MLS/Aura Level 3: Monthly Cloud Ice Content on Global Grids

ML3MBIWC is the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder monthly binned product for cloud ice water content. The data provides near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a spatial resolution of 4° by 5° longitude and a vertical range from 215 to 82.5 hPa. It is produced by NASA and archived in netCDF4 format, with files containing multiple group objects for different spatial and vertical representations.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global cloud ice water content distribution based on monthly binned lat-lon maps.
• Studying vertical profiles of atmospheric ice based on pressure and potential temperature grids.
• Investigating zonal mean patterns and vortex averages for polar atmospheric studies.
• Validating and improving climate model simulations of cloud microphysics based on satellite-derived IWC.

Strengths

• Data has near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Provides multiple data representations (average, min, max, std dev, rms) within each file group.
• Archived in netCDF4 format, which is compatible with standard HDF5 readers and tools.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.
• The recommended useful vertical range is limited to 215 to 82.5 hPa.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 240 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).

Time Range

Monthly binned data; specific temporal coverage is not provided in the input.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:02:53.787678; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.