NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) has released Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) on the Meteor-3M (M-3M) platform (SAGE III/M3M) SAGE III Meteor-3M L2 Monthly Cloud Presence Version 4 data products. These products are available in both native and HDF-EOS formats. They compile monthly records of cloud occurrences in polar regions, specifically documenting cloud conditions present during SAGE III's solar measurement activities.
SAGE III served as a fourth-generation satellite instrument and formed an integral component of NASA's Earth Observing System. The instrument captured detailed atmospheric profiles measuring aerosol extinction, ozone concentrations, water vapor, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen trioxide, chlorine dioxide and cloud formations throughout the mesosphere, stratosphere, and upper troposphere. These measurements achieved vertical resolution ranging from 0.5 to 1 kilometer. The SAGE III/Meteor-3M mission operated from its December 2001 launch until March 6, 2006, when operations ceased due to spacecraft power system failure that severed satellite communications.
NASA has since continued SAGE measurements through the SAGE III instrument installed on the International Space Station (ISS), which began operations in 2017. These data products are also available from ASDC via the following options:
- Earthdata Search:
- Direct Download:
Please contact the ASDC User Services team with any questions.