MLS/Aura Monthly Binned Water Vapor Mixing Ratio on Assorted Grids

ML3MBH2O provides near-global monthly binned water vapor data from the Aura satellite's Microwave Limb Sounder. The data version is 4.2, with spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a 4x5 degree resolution. Each netCDF4 file contains six group objects, including lat-lon maps versus pressure and theta, with data fields for average, min, max, standard deviation, and RMS.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric humidity trends based on monthly binned averages and zonal means.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of water vapor based on lat-lon maps versus pressure and theta.
• Studying polar vortex dynamics using the vortex average versus theta data group.
• Assessing data variability and uncertainty for climate models based on the provided standard deviation and RMS fields.

Strengths

• Data provides a recommended useful vertical range between 316 and 0.00215 hPa.
• Spatial coverage is near-global, from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Files contain six distinct group objects with multiple statistical measures (average, min, max, std dev, rms).

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 primarily by the 190 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).

Time Range

Monthly binned data; specific temporal coverage is not provided in the input.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:59:51.725639; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.