SNDRJ1IML3SMCCP: Monthly Global Atmospheric Profiles from NOAA-20 Satellite

CLIMCAPS V2 algorithm processes data from the NOAA-20 satellite's CrIS and ATMS instruments, which have 2211 infrared and 22 microwave channels, to produce a monthly gridded atmospheric state. This Level 3 product includes full atmospheric profiles of temperature, water vapor, ozone, and trace gases like carbon monoxide and methane at a one-degree latitude/longitude resolution. The data characterizes surface properties, cloud top features, and atmospheric composition for climate and air quality monitoring.

Use Cases

• Monitoring global tropospheric carbon monoxide levels using retrieved column density values.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature and water vapor for weather and climate model assimilation.
• Studying cloud top characteristics, including pressure and temperature, for cloud-climate interaction research.
• Tracking atmospheric composition changes for greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
• Validating surface skin temperature and emissivity retrievals over land and ocean.

Strengths

• Derived from high-resolution satellite instruments, with CrIS providing 2211 spectral channels and ATMS providing 22 channels.
• Algorithm employs an Optimal Estimation methodology to characterize the full atmospheric state with multiple geophysical parameters.
• Product has a documented data correction procedure for a known bias in the 'co_mmr_midtrop' variable.

Limitations

• A significant, documented bias exists in the 'co_mmr_midtrop' variable due to an incorrect molecular weight conversion.
• Key metadata such as specific column names, row counts, and precise temporal coverage are not provided in the available sources.
• Sources conflict on license information, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and another listing 'None'.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Sounder SIPS at JPL.

Collection Method

Data analyzed from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (CrIS/ATMS) on the NOAA-20 (JPSS-1) satellite using the CLIMCAPS algorithm.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to datagov.

Geography

Global, gridded to one degree latitude by one degree longitude.