ECMWF Isobaric Temperature, Height, and Wind Fields for Stratospheric Research

12 UT data points daily from November through April, starting in 1991, provide temperature, geopotential height, and wind fields at isobaric surfaces. The data are extracted from the ECMWF MARS archive and transferred to NILU via the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for European stratospheric ozone research projects like EASOE and SESAME. Data are stored in NASA Ames format 3010 on a 2.5x2.5 degree longitude/latitude grid.

Use Cases

• Model stratospheric ozone depletion based on temperature and wind fields.
• Analyze seasonal atmospheric patterns from November to April based on daily data.
• Validate climate models using geopotential height data on a global 2.5x2.5 degree grid.
• Study polar vortex dynamics based on wind (u and v) components at multiple pressure levels.

Strengths

• Daily data at 12 UT from November through April provides consistent seasonal coverage.
• Data covers 13 isobaric surfaces from 1000 hPa to 10 hPa, offering vertical atmospheric profiles.
• Grid resolution is 2.5x2.5 degrees, providing a structured global spatial dataset.

Limitations

• Row count and column definitions are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data coverage is limited to the November-April period each year, missing full annual cycles.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF)

Collection Method

Extracted from the ECMWF MARS archive.

Time Range

Starting November 1991, daily from November through April.

Freshness

Ongoing (approximately yearly update)

Geography

Global coverage on a 2.5x2.5 degree longitude/latitude grid.