SNPP CrIMSS CLIMCAPS: Atmospheric State Profiles from Satellite Sounding

240 granules per day provide atmospheric state retrievals from the Suomi NPP satellite's CrIS/ATMS instruments using an Optimal Estimation algorithm. The dataset includes full vertical profiles of temperature, water vapor, and ozone, plus surface properties and trace gas concentrations like carbon monoxide and methane. Data has a latency of 3 to 7 weeks due to its reliance on the MERRA-2 reanalysis for its first-guess state.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and water vapor for weather model validation.
• Monitoring global distributions of trace gases like carbon monoxide and methane for air quality and climate studies.
• Retrieving cloud top temperature and fraction for cloud property and radiation budget research.
• Assimilating surface skin temperature and emissivity data into land surface or ocean models.

Strengths

• Provides a wide range of geophysical parameters from a single source, including over 15 specific atmospheric and surface variables.
• Based on high-spectral-resolution infrared data from 1305 CrIS channels and 22 ATMS microwave channels.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA and U.S. government data portals indicates established importance and accessibility.

Limitations

• Key metadata like row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across any source.
• Data latency of 3 to 7 weeks limits use for near-real-time applications.
• One source lists a license ('other-license-specified') while another lists none, creating ambiguity for reuse.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the Suomi NPP platform's CrIS and ATMS instruments, processed with the CLIMCAPS Optimal Estimation algorithm.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to datagov, though this future date may be a placeholder or error.

Geography

Global coverage from a polar-orbiting satellite with an approximate 16-day orbit repeat cycle.