TOMS Nimbus-7: Daily Global Ozone, Aerosol, and UV Irradiance

Data from 1978 to 1993, collected by the Nimbus-7 satellite's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer. This version 8 product provides daily global gridded measurements of total column ozone, UV aerosol index, surface reflectivity, and UV-B erythemal irradiances. The data are stored in HDF-EOS format on a 1.00° x 1.25° latitude-longitude grid.

Use Cases

• Tracking long-term stratospheric ozone depletion based on total column ozone measurements.
• Monitoring global aerosol plumes from volcanic eruptions or dust storms using the UV aerosol index.
• Estimating surface UV exposure for public health studies based on erythemal irradiance data.
• Calibrating or validating atmospheric chemistry and climate models with gridded satellite observations.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent, long-term record from a single instrument, covering over 14 years.
• Offers multiple co-located atmospheric variables (ozone, aerosols, reflectivity, irradiance) in a unified global grid.
• Data is mapped to a standardized global grid of 180 x 288 cells, facilitating spatial analysis.

Limitations

• Conflicting metadata: one platform lists a last update in 2026 (likely a metadata refresh), while another indicates the data record ended in 1993.
• Specific column names and detailed file sizes are not provided in the available metadata.
• The license is listed only as 'other-license-specified', requiring users to seek clarification on terms of use.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the Nimbus-7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS).

Time Range

1978 to 1993 (inferred from Nimbus-7 mission and end date).

Freshness

2026-04-09 (metadata update on Data.gov); data collection ended 1993-05-06.

Geography

Global, gridded.