ML3MBOH: Aura Satellite Monthly Hydroxyl Mixing Ratios, 2004-2014

MLS/Aura Level 3 monthly binned hydroxyl (OH) mixing ratio data derived from THz radiometer measurements. The dataset provides near-global coverage from August 2004 to December 2009, with intermittent data through 2014, on assorted vertical grids from 31.6 to 0.00316 hPa. It is produced by NASA and archived in netCDF4 format.

Use Cases

• Modeling hydroxyl radical trends based on the monthly binned time series from 2004-2014
• Analyzing spatial patterns of atmospheric chemistry based on the near-global latitude/longitude grid
• Studying vertical distribution of hydroxyl based on the specified pressure levels from 31.6 to 0.00316 hPa

Strengths

• Continuous data coverage from August 2004 to December 2009
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude
• Data files are in netCDF4 format, compatible with HDF5 readers and tools

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data collection after 2009 is intermittent, with only about 30 days of data per year in 2011-2014

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

August 2004 to December 2009, with intermittent data in August/September of 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:31:35.581519; freshness should be verified

Geography

Near-global, from -82 to +82 degrees latitude, with a spatial resolution of 4 degrees latitude by 5 degrees longitude.