SCIAMACHY: Nitric Oxide Density Profiles from Earth's Mesosphere

Nitric oxide (NO) number densities retrieved from SCIAMACHY satellite limb scans provide a global atmospheric record from 60 km to 160 km altitude. The data were collected daily from August 2002 to April 2012 by the SCIAMACHY spectrometer aboard ESA's Envisat satellite, processed on a 2.5° latitude by 2 km altitude grid. This dataset supports research on atmospheric chemistry and dynamics in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere.

Use Cases

• Studying nitric oxide variability and its role in the energy balance of the upper atmosphere based on altitude-latitude profiles.
• Validating and comparing atmospheric models with a decadal-scale observational record from 2002 to 2012.
• Investigating the impact of solar and geomagnetic activity on mesospheric composition using daily orbital measurements.
• Assimilating satellite-retrieved trace gas data into climate models to improve representation of the middle atmosphere.

Strengths

• Provides a decadal time series of daily measurements from August 2002 to April 2012.
• Offers global spatial coverage from 90°S to 90°N on a defined 2.5° x 2 km grid.
• Retrieval methodology is peer-reviewed and described in Bender et al., 2017, building on prior validated work for MLT NO.
• Data from the SCIAMACHY instrument are calibrated using ESA's official SciaL1C tool and version 8.02 spectra.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column/variable names are not provided in the available sources.
• The nominal NO dataset described here has not been independently validated against other measurements, though it compares well to SCIAMACHY's own MLT NO data below 90 km.
• The last update date for the dataset is unknown, affecting assessment of its current state and maintenance.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) Envisat satellite, SCIAMACHY instrument. Retrieved and processed at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

Collection Method

Remote sensing via UV-visible-near-infrared limb scans, with retrieval performed on calibrated atmospheric spectra (SCI_NL__1P v8.02).

Time Range

August 2002 to April 2012

Geography

Global, 90°S to 90°N latitude, 60 km to 160 km altitude.