TOMSEPL3maer: Global UV Aerosol Index Monthly Grid

NASA's Earth Probe TOMS instrument provides a global monthly UV aerosol index mapped to a 180 x 288 cell grid. These data, produced by the Laboratory for Atmospheres at Goddard Space Flight Center, offer a consistent 1.00 x 1.25 degree lat-long resolution for tracking atmospheric aerosols. The dataset is stored in ASCII format and represents version 8 of the processed product.

Use Cases

• Monitoring long-term aerosol trends based on monthly averaged UV aerosol index values.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry and transport models using a global 1.00 x 1.25 degree gridded product.
• Studying seasonal and interannual variability of atmospheric particulates from satellite observations.
• Assessing aerosol optical properties and their potential climate impacts in specific geographic regions.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent global spatial grid of 180 x 288 cells, enabling uniform analysis.
• Represents a processed, version 8 (V008) product from a recognized NASA instrument and science team.
• Features a defined spatial resolution of 1.00 degree in latitude and 1.25 degrees in longitude.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates (2005-03-31 vs. 2026-04-09) across platform entries create uncertainty about data currency.
• Column names and specific data structure within the ASCII files are not documented in the provided metadata.
• The dataset's temporal coverage (start and end dates) is not explicitly stated in the input.

Provenance

Source

Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Code 614).

Collection Method

Satellite observations from the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument, processed to version 8.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:44:50.018018 (conflict with 2005-03-31 entry noted in limitations)

Geography

Global, gridded.