UARML3AT: Daily Atmospheric Profiles from UARS MLS

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) collected vertical profiles of atmospheric constituents from 10 to 85 km altitude. The Level 3AT product provides daily, latitude-ordered data for temperature, geopotential height, and concentrations of ozone, water vapor, chlorine monoxide, and other key species. Data processing uses multiple algorithm versions, and measurements at 183 GHz ceased after April 15, 1993 due to a radiometer failure.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ozone depletion trends based on vertical profiles of O3 and ClO concentrations.
• Studying upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) and water vapor profiles for climate research.
• Validating atmospheric model outputs using daily, latitude-ordered temperature and geopotential height data.
• Investigating sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitric acid (HNO3) distributions in the stratosphere.
• Examining the relationship between chlorine monoxide and ozone destruction as described by the instrument's design purpose.

Strengths

• Provides vertical profiles with approximately 2.5 km resolution across a wide altitude range (10-85 km).
• Contains data for multiple key atmospheric species (O3, H2O, ClO, HNO3, SO2, CH3CN) and physical parameters (temperature, geopotential height).
• Data collection alternates between latitude bands 34S-80N and 80S-34N, providing coverage over a significant portion of the globe.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unknown across all sources.
• Water vapor and ozone data at 183 GHz are only available until April 15, 1993, limiting the temporal continuity for those specific measurements.
• The dataset is stored in a binary record-oriented format, which may require specialized tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), processed by GES_DISC.

Collection Method

Limb measurements made in the microwave spectral region at frequencies of 63, 183, and 205 GHz.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-04-09 21:18:05.486467

Geography

Latitude coverage alternates between 34S to 80N and 80S to 34N each satellite yaw cycle (~36 days).