Aura MLS Data
The EOS MLS data describe a piecewise linear representation of vertical profiles of gas phase chemical abundances, temperature, and cloud ice density.
The vertical coordinate is log10 (atmospheric pressure) with, typically, 6 breakpoints per decade pressure (. . ., 3.16, 2.15, 1.47, 1.00, 0.68, 0.46, 0.32 hPa, . . .).
The vertical range of usefulness depends upon the specific data product and the data version. Some of the MLS observations are "noisy" in nature, with the consequence that negative values are reported - these should not be masked or ignored, as failure to include them (in the averages that are required of these data) will lead to an artificial positive bias.
It is essential that users of MLS data understand and apply the data quality and status indicators available in the data files. These are described, for each released version of MLS data, by MLS Data Quality Documents. These documents also describe the expected precision, resolution, and known artifacts of each product for that data version - and improvement priorities for future data versions. They are available for MLS Version 5 (v5) data at the MLS Data Documentation page.
The MLS team very strongly encourages users to contact us with any questions on the data and if you find features that seem unreasonable. Although we have done our best to produce a reasonably sound data set within one year of becoming operational, we have no misconceptions that all the data artifacts have been identified.
Feedback from users is of great benefit for improving the quality of the next data version. We also welcome, and encourage, users to just inform us that you are using MLS data. By knowing who you are, we can contact you with new data issues as we find them (the MLS team inspects all daily data, and reviews the findings on a weekly basis). Contacts can be made via e-mail to mls-data@jpl.nasa.gov.
Aura MLS Version 5 Data
MLS v5 data are available from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC).| Product | Useful Vertical Range / hPa |
|---|---|
| BrO* | 10 - 3.2 |
| CH3Cl* | 147 - 4.6 |
| CH3CN* | 46 - 1.0 |
| CH3OH | 147 - 100 (contact MLS science team before contemplating use) |
| ClO | 147 - 1.0 |
| CO | 215 - 0.001 |
| Geopotential Height | 261 - 0.00046 |
| H2O | 316 - 0.001 |
| HCl | 100 - 0.32 |
| HCN* | 21 - 0.1 |
| HNO3 | 215 - 1.5 (1.0 under enhanced conditions) |
| HO2* | 22 - 0.046 |
| HOCl* | 10 - 2.2 |
| Ice Water Content | 215 - 83 |
| Ice Water Path | N/A |
| N2O | 100 - 0.46 |
| O3 | 261 - 0.001 |
| OH | 32 - 0.0032 |
| Relative Humidity | 316 - 0.001 |
| SO2 | 215 - 10 |
| Temperature | 216 - 0.00046 |
Additional / Supplementary Data
Near Real-Time Version 5 Data
The MLS team have developed a capability to produce limited data products in near-real-time. Currently we are processing data with a latency of typically between 2 to 4 hours distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES-DISC).The Aura MLS NRT data products are derived from a reduced Level-2 algorithm which uses forward model and retrieval approaches optimized for speed over accuracy, resulting in computational resource requirements reduced dramatically compared to the standard product processing suite.
An overview of the Aura MLS NRT products and comparison with the MLS standard data products is given in a brief user guide.
MLS NRT Data Access (there are up to 96 files per day per product each containing 15 minutes of data).
The Aura MLS version 5.0 Near-Real-Time data are available for download from the GES-DISC. Only data from the past 7 days are retained online. However, the MLS team can provide historical NRT data (in daily files) for offline testing purposes.
| Available NRT Products | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| O3 | Temperature | CO | H2O |
| N2O | HNO3 | SO2 | |
ClO Bias Correction Data
| Version | File |
|---|---|
| v4 | Download |
| v5 | Download |
Averaging Kernels
Below are EOS MLS Averaging Kernel files. There are TAR packages available, containing files in either NetCDF-4 or ASCII format.The netCDF-4 files are for 5 latitudes and contain 1D files (horizontal and vertical averaging kernels), 2D files (un-collapsed), and 2D averaging kernels (2D arrays of weights).
The ASCII files contain 2 latitudes.
| Version | Download | |
|---|---|---|
| v4 | netCDF-4 | ASCII |
| v5 | netCDF-4 | ASCII |
Derived Meteorological Products
Derived meteorological products (DMPs) for the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) are calculated from NASA GMAO stratosphere/troposphere assimilated meteorological datasets. These gridded meteorological data and derived products (such as equivalent latitude (EqL) and vortex edge criteria) are interpolated to the locations of the MLS measurements. Version 2 (v2) DMPs, also known as “EDMPs”, are calculated from newer versions of GEOS5 and from the GEOS5-based MERRA-2 reanalyses, and are provided for v4 and v5 MLS data.Documentation on the DMPs is available at Derived Meteorological Products, Tropopauses Characterization, and Jet Identification Data Fromat.
The DMP files are currently being prepared to be moved to the GES-DISC. If you would like access to the files, please contact Gloria Manney and Luis Millan.