TROPESS CrIS-JPSS1: Global Methane Vertical Profiles from NOAA-20 Satellite

26 vertical levels from the surface to 0.1 hPa provide the retrieved atmospheric state of methane (CH4) and its formal uncertainties. This dataset contains daily global measurements from the CrIS instrument on the JPSS-1 (NOAA-20) satellite, processed using the MUSES optimal estimation algorithm by the NASA TROPESS project starting April 1, 2021. Each netCDF4 file represents one day of data with a spatial resolution of 14 km at the CrIS nadir field of view.

Use Cases

• Quantifying global methane concentrations and trends based on vertical profile retrievals.
• Assessing regional methane emissions and transport using the 26-level vertical distribution.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry and transport models with satellite-derived CH4 data.
• Studying stratosphere-troposphere exchange of methane using profiles up to 0.1 hPa.

Strengths

• Provides a detailed vertical structure with data reported at 26 specific pressure levels.
• Offers continuous global daily coverage from April 2021 to the present.
• Uses a sophisticated, peer-reviewed retrieval algorithm (MUSES optimal estimation).
• Data is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA EarthData, Data.gov), indicating curation and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and a complete data dictionary are not provided in the available metadata.
• Exact file sizes and total row counts are unspecified, complicating storage and processing planning.
• License information is inconsistently reported as 'other-license-specified' or null.

Provenance

Source

NASA TROPESS project, principal investigator Kevin W. Bowman; data from CrIS instrument on JPSS-1 (NOAA-20) satellite.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing processed via the MUlti-SpEctra, MUlti-SpEcies, Multi-SEnsors (MUSES) optimal estimation algorithm.

Time Range

2021-04 01 to present

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:36:40.770330

Geography

Global