TROPESS CrIS-SNPP: Global Deuterated Water Vapor Vertical Profiles

From February 1, 2021, to May 21, 2021, this dataset provides daily global vertical profiles of semi-heavy water (HDO) in the atmosphere. It is derived from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite using the MUSES optimal estimation algorithm. Each netCDF4 file contains retrieved atmospheric state, formal uncertainties, and diagnostic information reported at 17 vertical levels with a 14 km spatial resolution.

Use Cases

• Tracking atmospheric moisture transport and sources based on deuterated water vapor (HDO) profiles.
• Validating climate and weather model simulations of isotopic water vapor using the 17-level vertical data.
• Analyzing daily global changes in the atmospheric state from the Suomi-NPP satellite's forward stream.
• Researching tropospheric chemistry and precursor processes as part of the TROPESS project focus.

Strengths

• Provides a specific, global time series for a 3.5-month period (2021-02-01 to 2021-05 21).
• Offers high vertical resolution with data reported at 17 distinct levels from the surface to 0.1 hPa.
• Uses a sophisticated, documented retrieval algorithm (MUSES optimal estimation) from the NASA TROPESS project.

Limitations

• The dataset's active collection period is limited and was discontinued in May 2021.
• Column names and specific variable details are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2026 vs. 2021) across platforms create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

NASA TROPESS project, GES DISC, Principal Investigator Kevin W. Bowman.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the CrIS instrument on Suomi-NPP, processed with the MUSES algorithm.

Time Range

2021-02-01 to 2021-05-21

Freshness

2026-04 09 21:22:33.966185 (most recent platform update, though data collection ended in 2021)

Geography

Global