ML3MBCH3CL: Aura Satellite Monthly Methyl Chloride Measurements, 2005-Present

EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder monthly binned data provides methyl chloride (CH3Cl) mixing ratios from August 2005 onward. The dataset offers near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a 4°x5° resolution, with a recommended vertical range between 147 and 4.64 hPa. Each netCDF4 file contains six group objects for different spatial and vertical coordinate views, including lat-lon maps, zonal means, and vortex averages.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric chlorine budgets based on methyl chloride mixing ratios.
• Analyzing long-term trends in halogen source gases based on the 2005-present time series.
• Studying spatial distributions of atmospheric compounds based on the near-global lat-lon maps.
• Investigating vertical transport processes based on data binned on pressure and potential temperature grids.

Strengths

• Continuous data coverage from August 2005 to the present.
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data is provided in netCDF4 format, compatible with standard HDF5 readers and tools.
• Each file contains six distinct group objects for multiple analysis perspectives (e.g., lat-lon maps, zonal means).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

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).

Time Range

August 2005 to current

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:01:32.346173; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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