UARS HRDI: Daily Upper Atmosphere Wind and Temperature Profiles

Daily vertical profiles from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) provide meridional and zonal wind components, temperature, and O2 volume emission rate data. Measurements cover the stratosphere (10-40 km) and mesosphere (50-115 km) at approximately 2.5 km resolution, collected between 40°S–76°N and 76°S–40°N latitudes on alternating 36-day yaw cycles. The Level 3AL product, processed with version 11 algorithm, consists of 8 granules per day, structured on standard UARS altitude and pressure levels.

Use Cases

• Analyzing meridional and zonal wind patterns in the upper atmosphere based on daily vertical profiles.
• Studying temperature structure and variability in the stratosphere and mesosphere.
• Investigating airglow phenomena via O2 volume emission rate measurements.
• Validating and improving global circulation models with satellite-derived wind and temperature data.
• Examining latitudinal and seasonal atmospheric dynamics using the 4-degree increment latitude-ordered data.

Strengths

• Provides multi-parameter vertical profiles (winds, temperature, emission) for two distinct atmospheric layers.
• Offers daily temporal resolution and a defined spatial coverage alternating between two latitude bands.
• Data is structured on a well-documented standard grid of UARS altitude and pressure levels.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact temporal range are unspecified.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (1999 and 2026) suggest potential metadata inconsistency across platforms.
• Data is stored in a binary record-oriented format, which may require specialized tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) instrument.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via Doppler shift measurements of spectral lines (400-800 nm).

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-04-09 21:18:09.749938

Geography

Latitude bands 40°S to 76°N and 76°S to 40°N, alternating coverage.