HRDI: Upper Atmosphere Wind and Temperature Profiles

HRDI on NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite measured Doppler shifts between 400 and 800 nm to produce daily vertical profiles. It captures meridional and zonal wind components, temperature, and O2 volume emission rates in the stratosphere (10-40 km) and mesosphere/lower thermosphere (50-115 km) at about 2.5 km resolution. Data coverage alternates between latitudes 40S-76N and 76S-40N every 36-day satellite yaw cycle.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical wind profiles based on meridional and zonal wind component columns.
• Studying temperature variations across the stratosphere and mesosphere based on the temperature column.
• Investigating O2 volume emission rates for atmospheric chemistry studies.
• Modeling atmospheric dynamics using the alternating latitude coverage (40S-76N / 76S-40N).
• Calibrating or validating climate models with high-resolution (2.5 km) vertical profile data.

Strengths

• Provides vertical profiles at approximately 2.5 km resolution across two distinct atmospheric layers.
• Offers daily data granules (8 per day) with a consistent 65.536-second measurement interval.
• Covers a wide latitudinal range, alternating between hemispheres every 36 days.
• Data is structured on defined UARS standard altitude and pressure levels.

Limitations

• Column names are not provided in the metadata, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• Sources conflict on the last update date (1999 vs 2026), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• Data is stored in a binary record-oriented format, which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Measured Doppler shifts of spectral lines in the visible and near-IR (400-800 nm).

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:25:44.178069

Geography

Latitudes between 40S and 76N, and 76S and 40N, alternating every 36 days.