TES/Aura L2 Methanol Lite Nadir V007: Satellite Methanol Profiles

TES/Aura L2 Methanol Lite Nadir V007 provides methanol concentration profiles from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer aboard NASA's Aura satellite, launched July 15, 2004. The 'Lite' product simplifies usage by aggregating results monthly, reducing data dimensionality to retrieved pressure levels, applying validation-based corrections, and combining ancillary files. It includes mapping matrices to relate reduced retrieval vectors back to the TES forward model grid for cross-comparison with models and other data products.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global methanol distribution and trends based on monthly aggregated satellite retrievals.
• Comparing atmospheric model outputs with observational data using the provided mapping matrices and averaging kernels.
• Studying tropospheric chemistry and air quality by utilizing the bias-corrected, pressure-level mapped concentration profiles.
• Conducting cross-satellite or cross-species validation studies using the simplified, combined data structure.

Strengths

• Data incorporates known corrections quantified through validation campaigns, enhancing accuracy.
• Product design reduces data sizes by 1/3 to 1/10 while minimizing information loss, improving usability.
• Includes mapping matrices and full error covariance matrices to facilitate direct comparison with models.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: specific column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unknown across all sources.
• Data collection for the TES instrument is stated as complete, limiting temporal coverage to its operational lifetime.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist (2015-12 31 and 2026-04-09), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

NASA Aura satellite Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via infrared emission spectrometry.

Time Range

From instrument launch (July 15, 2004) until data collection completion. Exact end date not specified.

Freshness

2026 04-09 20:24:40.517415

Geography

Global, from satellite nadir observations during Global Surveys and Special Observations.