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Description

The mass concentration ammonia in the atmosphere, consists of products generated for the study of atmospheric ammonia. Atmospheric ammonia is an important component of the global nitrogen cycle. In the troposphere, ammonia reacts rapidly with acids such as sulfuric and nitric to form fine particulate matter. These ammonium containing aerosols affect Earth's radiative balance, both directly by scattering incoming radiation and indirectly as cloud condensation nuclei. Major sources of atmospheric ammonia involve agricultural activities including animal husbandry, especially concentrated animal feeding operations and fertilizer use. Major sinks of atmospheric ammonia involve dry deposition and wet removal by precipitation, as well as conversion to particulate ammonium by reaction with acids. Measurements of ambient NH3 are sparse, but satellites provide a means to monitor atmospheric composition globally. Using the AIRS/AMSU satellite this algorithm provides monthly measurements of derived atmospheric NH3 for September 2002 through August 2016.

Product Summary

Platforms
Aqua
Instruments
AIRS ,
AMSU-A
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2002-09-01 to 2016-08-31
Data Partner
Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (formerly Goddard DAAC), Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/GESDI
Concept ID
C1619004533-GES_DISC
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
168
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Ammonia

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Warner, J. (2019). AIRS Atmospheric Composition Ammonia, L3, Monthly [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/06YIT7GX74FN Date Accessed: 2026-02-19

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
lat lat degrees_north float32 N/A N/A N/A
lon lon degrees_east float32 N/A N/A N/A
nh3_vmr nh3_vmr mol/mol, number of moles of ammonia per mole of air float32 -999.90002441406 N/A N/A
press_level press_level hPa float32 N/A N/A N/A
time time seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00Z float64 N/A N/A N/A
time_bnds time_bnds seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00Z float64 N/A N/A N/A
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