MLS/Aura: Monthly Methyl Chloride Mixing Ratios from Satellite, 2004-Present

MLS/Aura satellite data provides monthly binned methyl chloride (CH3Cl) mixing ratios from August 2004 to the present. The data offers near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a 4x5 degree resolution, with vertical profiles between 147 and 4.64 hPa. This product from NASA's GES DISC is archived in netCDF4 format and contains six group objects for different spatial and vertical analyses.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric chlorine chemistry based on methyl chloride mixing ratio profiles.
• Analyzing long-term trends in atmospheric halocarbons based on the near-global, monthly time series.
• Studying spatial distributions of trace gases based on the lat-lon map vs pressure data groups.
• Investigating polar vortex dynamics based on the equivalent latitude vs potential temperature zonal mean data.

Strengths

• Data coverage spans from August 2004 to current, providing a long-term record.
• Spatial coverage is near-global (-82 to +82 degrees latitude) at 4x5 degree resolution.
• Vertical resolution is specified as 4-6 km in the lower stratosphere and 8-10 km above 14 hPa.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The recommended useful vertical range is limited to between 147 and 4.64 hPa.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 640 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite.

Time Range

August 2004 to current

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:30:43.574173; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global (-82 to +82 degrees latitude)