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Description
TES/Aura Level 2 Ancillary Special Observation Product Version 8 contains retrieved atmospheric profiles from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer instrument, which operated aboard NASA's Aura satellite from its launch on July 15, 2004. The dataset provides species volume mixing ratios, temperature profiles, surface temperature, and associated error estimates derived by comparing observed spectra to modeled spectra via radiative transfer algorithms. Each global survey consists of observations from up to 16 consecutive orbits, with the retrieval methodology changing on April 24, 2005, from two to three low-resolution scans per nadir sequence.
Use Cases
Analyzing vertical profiles of atmospheric gases based on retrieved species volume mixing ratios (VMRs).
Validating climate models using global temperature profile and surface temperature data.
Studying tropospheric composition changes over time using the time-series of global survey observations.
Assessing retrieval algorithm performance using the provided precision, total error, and vertical resolution diagnostics.
Strengths
Data collection is complete, providing a finalized historical record from the TES instrument.
Retrieval process is detailed, using radiative transfer modeling to compare observed and modeled spectra.
Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals its importance and curation.
Limitations
Key metadata such as specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided by any source.
Sources conflict on the number of retrievals performed per global survey cycle (3,200 vs. 4,608).
The dataset's freshness is unclear; the last update date is listed but may reflect metadata rather than data.
Provenance
Source
NASA's Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument aboard the Aura satellite.
Collection Method
Satellite remote sensing via nadir and limb observations, with data processed through radiative transfer modeling and retrieval algorithms.
Time Range
From satellite launch on July 15, 2004, through the completion of TES data collection.
Freshness
Last updated metadata on 2026-04-09 according to nasa_earthdata and datagov.
Geography
Global coverage from satellite orbits.
License is listed as 'other-license-specified'; users must check specific terms. The retrieval methodology and number of scans per observation changed on April 24, 2005.