TROPESS CrIS-SNPP: Daily Global Ammonia Vertical Profiles

From February 1 to May 21, 2021, this dataset provides daily global vertical profiles of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) concentrations. It is derived from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument aboard the Suomi-NPP satellite, processed using the MUSES optimal estimation algorithm. Data are reported at 15 vertical levels from the surface to 0.1 hPa with a spatial resolution of 14 km.

Use Cases

• Tracking global ammonia pollution sources and transport based on daily, vertically-resolved concentration maps.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models using satellite-derived ammonia profiles with formal uncertainties.
• Studying seasonal or short-term variability in atmospheric ammonia during the February-May 2021 period.
• Analyzing the vertical distribution of ammonia from the surface to the upper atmosphere across 15 pressure levels.

Strengths

• Provides specific vertical resolution with data reported at 15 discrete levels from the surface to 0.1 hPa.
• Offers high spatial detail with a 14 km resolution at the CrIS instrument's nadir field of view.
• Data is processed using a sophisticated, documented algorithm (MUSES optimal estimation).
• Has a clear, defined temporal coverage from 2021-02-01 to 2021-05-21.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a short, 4-month period in early 2021, after which processing was discontinued.
• Column-level metadata (specific variables) is not provided in the available descriptions.
• Dataset size and row counts are unknown across all sources, hindering an assessment of data volume.

Provenance

Source

NASA TROPESS project, data from the CrIS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2021-02-01 to 2021-05-21

Freshness

Metadata was last updated on 2026-04-09 according to two platforms.

Geography

Global