OMPS-NPP AER: Stratospheric Aerosol Extinction Vertical Profiles

OMPS-NPP L2 LP Aerosol Extinction Vertical Profile data provides retrieved aerosol extinction coefficients from the Suomi-NPP satellite's Limb-Profiler sensor. It measures stratospheric aerosol abundance and evolution at six specific wavelengths (510, 600, 675, 745, 869, and 997 nm) globally, with profiles from the ground up to about 80 km and a vertical resolution of approximately 1.8 km. This dataset replaces the previous single-wavelength AER675 product.

Use Cases

• Tracking stratospheric aerosol evolution after volcanic eruptions based on multi-wavelength extinction profiles.
• Validating and improving global atmospheric models using daily, global vertical profile data.
• Studying the radiative forcing of aerosols in the stratosphere based on extinction coefficients at six wavelengths.
• Analyzing cross-track spatial distribution of aerosols using the three limb profiles measured per orbit.

Strengths

• Provides data at six specific wavelengths (510, 600, 675, 745, 869, 997 nm) for detailed aerosol characterization.
• Offers global spatial coverage (-90 to 90 degrees latitude) with approximately 14.5 orbits of data per day.
• Features a high vertical resolution of approximately 1.8 km for profiles from the ground to about 80 km.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• Metadata for size, row count, and author is inconsistent or missing across platforms.
• The dataset is stored in HDF5 format, which may require specialized tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

Ozone Mapping and Profiling Suite (OMPS) Limb-Profiler sensor on the Suomi-NPP satellite, processed by GES_DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing measurements from the daylight portion of each orbit.

Time Range

Daily granules; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:16:12.688889

Geography

Global coverage from -90 to 90 degrees latitude.