TES/Aura L1B Spectra Nadir V006: Satellite Radiance Observations

Data collection spans from the TES instrument's launch on July 15, 2004, through its operational period, concluding with the mission's completion. This Level 1B product contains radiometric calibrated spectral radiances and noise equivalent spectral radiances (NESR) from nadir observations by the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer aboard NASA's Aura satellite. Each file contains Global Survey Nadir observations from a single orbit, providing geolocation, quality, and engineering data for atmospheric retrievals.

Use Cases

• Calibrating atmospheric models using radiometric spectral radiance data.
• Retrieving species volume mixing ratios (VMRs) and temperature profiles from calibrated spectra.
• Analyzing temporal changes in tropospheric composition using time-ordered orbit sequences.
• Validating satellite instrument performance with noise equivalent spectral radiance (NESR) metrics.

Strengths

• Provides calibrated spectral radiances with explicit noise metrics (NESR), essential for quantitative analysis.
• Offers detailed operational history, including a change in scan protocol on April 24, 2005.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates established provenance and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are unspecified across all sources, hindering precise data understanding.
• Key metadata like row count, file size, and specific license terms are missing or listed as 'unknown'.
• The most recent update date (2026-04-09) appears to be a placeholder or system artifact, conflicting with the mission's completion.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on the Aura spacecraft.

Time Range

2004-07-15 (launch) through mission completion; operational details specify changes from April 24, 2005.

Freshness

Last updated date conflicts: 2026-04-09 on Data.gov vs. 2018-01-22 on NASA EarthData; mission data collection is complete.

Geography

Global, from the South Pole Apex, via nadir observations from a sun-synchronous orbit.