SAGE II V7.0: Stratospheric Aerosol, Ozone, NO2, and Water Vapor Profiles

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) Version 7.0 dataset provides vertical profiles of aerosol extinction, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor from satellite solar occultation measurements. Data were collected globally from sunrise and sunset events by the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) instrument over a 21-year mission. Version 7.0 removed 4900 problematic short occultation events and successfully processed approximately 150 additional events, resulting in more usable profiles than previous versions.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in stratospheric ozone concentration based on multi-channel spectral radiometer measurements.
• Studying aerosol extinction profiles to understand volcanic or anthropogenic impacts on atmospheric transparency.
• Investigating the vertical distribution of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and water vapor in the stratosphere from occultation events.
• Validating atmospheric models using satellite-derived profiles spanning from approximately 140 km to the horizon or cloud top.

Strengths

• Contains more usable profiles than previous versions after removing 4900 problematic short occultation events.
• Provides data from a 21-year continuous mission aboard the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS).
• Includes profiles for four key atmospheric constituents (aerosol extinction, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor) from seven spectral wavelengths.

Limitations

• Column names and exact row counts are not provided in any source metadata.
• The dataset is stored in a native binary format (BIN), which may require specialized software or knowledge to access.
• Metadata freshness is inconsistent; one source lists an update date of 2026-04-09, while another lists 2005-08-30.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC)

Collection Method

Data gathered by the SAGE II multi-channel spectral radiometer during solar occultation events at sunrise and sunset.

Time Range

21-year mission (specific start and end dates not provided, but launch was October 5, 1984).

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:54:38.287397

Geography

Global, from satellite occultation events along the ERBS spacecraft ground track.