ML3MBHNO3: Monthly Binned Nitric Acid Mixing Ratio from Aura Satellite

ML3MBHNO3 is a NASA EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) dataset providing monthly binned nitric acid (HNO3) mixing ratios. Data coverage spans from August 2004 to the present, with near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude. The data is archived in netCDF4 format and includes profile and column data on assorted vertical grids.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric nitric acid distribution based on near-global satellite measurements.
• Analyzing long-term trends in atmospheric composition based on data from August 2004 to present.
• Validating climate model outputs for polar regions based on data up to 82 degrees latitude.
• Studying vertical profiles of HNO3 for atmospheric chemistry research based on data from 215 to 1.47 hPa.

Strengths

• Long temporal coverage from August 2004 to current.
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data is archived in the netCDF4 format, which is compatible with 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.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 240 GHz and 190 GHz radiometers on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).

Time Range

August 2004 to current.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:02:19.640084; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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