ML3MBSO2: Monthly Global Sulfur Dioxide Levels from Aura Satellite

MLS/Aura Level 3 monthly binned sulfur dioxide (SO2) mixing ratio data derived from 240 GHz radiometer measurements. The dataset provides near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a 4°x5° resolution, with a vertical range from 215 to 10 hPa. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric sulfur dioxide transport based on monthly binned zonal means.
• Analyzing volcanic plume dispersion based on lat-lon maps versus pressure levels.
• Studying atmospheric composition trends based on monthly averaged data with standard deviation fields.
• Validating climate model outputs for SO2 based on near-global spatial coverage.

Strengths

• Provides multiple data perspectives (average, min, max, std dev, rms) across six group objects.
• Spatial coverage is near-global (-82 to +82 degrees latitude).
• Data is archived in netCDF4 format, compatible with standard HDF5 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 EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) 240 GHz radiometer.

Time Range

Monthly binned data; specific temporal coverage is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:31:20.947915; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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