Skip to main content

Description

WARNING: Users of the derived product “co_mmr_midtrop” (carbon monoxide mass mixing ratio to dry air [kg/kg] at ~500 hPa). This variable has a significant bias due to a conversion error: the molecular weight of carbon dioxide (CO2, 44.01 g/mol) was used instead of carbon monoxide (CO, 28.01 g/mol). To correct, simply multiply “co_mmr_midtrop” by 28.01/44.01. Alternatively, derive a profile of mass mixing ratio from scratch using the retrieved column density values (“mol_lay/co_mol_lay”) in the Level 2 files. For further questions or concerns please contact the Sounder SIPS at: sounder.sips@jpl.nasa.gov

The CLIMCAPS (Community Long-term Infrared Microwave Coupled Product System) algorithm is used to analyze data from the AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder). The AIRS instrument is a grating spectrometer (R = 1200) aboard the second Earth Observing System (EOS) polar-orbiting platform, EOS Aqua. The AIRS Standard Retrieval Product consists of retrieved estimates of cloud and surface properties, plus profiles of retrieved temperature, water vapor, ozone, carbon monoxide and methane. The temperature profile vertical resolution is 100 levels total between 1100 mb and 0.1 mb, while moisture profile is reported at atmospheric layers between 1100 mb and 300 mb. The horizontal resolution is 50 km.

The CLIMCAPS algorithm uses an Optimal Estimation methodology and uses an a-priori first guess to start the process. A CLIMCAPS sounding is comprised of a set of parameters that characterizes the full atmospheric state and includes a variety of geophysical parameters derived from the CrIMSS data. These include surface temperature and infrared emissivity; full atmosphere profiles of temperature, water vapor and ozone; infrared effective cloud top characteristics; carbon monoxide, methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and nitric acid.

This daily one degree latitude by one degree longitude level-3 product starts with level-2 retrieval products applying the specific quality control (QC) methodology. Specific QC accepts profile level from the top of the atmosphere down to the level where the QC determines that it is still good. Below this level, the data is rejected.

Product Summary

Platforms
Aqua
Instruments
AIRS
Spatial Extent

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

Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2002-08-31 to Present
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
C1693440802-GES_DISC
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
8512
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Tropospheric Ozone ,
Tropopause ,
Methane ,
Atmospheric Ozone ,
Surface Pressure ,
Outgoing Longwave Radiation ,
Surface Temperature ,
Air Temperature ,
Upper Air Temperature ,
Layered Precipitable Water ,
Total Precipitable Water ,
Water Vapor Profiles ,
Cloud Fraction ,
Cloud Top Pressure ,
Cloud Top Temperature ,
Cloud Vertical Distribution ,
Precipitation Rate ,
Emissivity ,
Skin Temperature ,
Sea Surface Temperature

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

Sounder SIPS: Chris Barnet. (2021). Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR-only Level 3 CLIMCAPS : Specific Quality Control Gridded Daily V2 [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/47IB56XWPHB3 Date Accessed: 2026-04-05

Documents

READ-ME

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

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 Offset
sdev/air_temp_sdev air_temp standard deviation Kelvin float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/ch4_mmr_midtrop_sdev ch4_mmr_midtrop standard deviation kg / kg float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/cld_top_pres_sdev cld_top_pres standard deviation Pa float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/co2_vmr_uppertrop_sdev co2_vmr_uppertrop standard deviation m3 / m3 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/co_mmr_midtrop_sdev co_mmr_midtrop standard deviation kg / kg float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/gp_hgt_sdev gp_hgt standard deviation m float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/h2o_vap_tot_sdev h2o_vap_tot standard deviation kg / m2 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/o3_tot_sdev o3_tot standard deviation kg / m2 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/prior_surf_pres_sdev prior_surf_pres standard deviation Pa float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/rel_hum_sdev rel_hum standard deviation 1 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/spec_hum_sdev spec_hum standard deviation kg / kg float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/surf_air_temp_sdev surf_air_temp standard deviation Kelvin float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/surf_alt_sdev surf_alt standard deviation 1 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/surf_ir_emis_sdev surf_ir_emis standard deviation 1 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/surf_temp_sdev surf_temp standard deviation Kelvin float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
sdev/tpause_pres_sdev tpause_pres standard deviation Pa float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
spec_hum mass fraction of water vapor in moist air kg / kg float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
surf_air_temp near-surface air temperature (~2 meters above surface) Kelvin float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
surf_alt mean surface altitude wrt earth model for observations m float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
surf_ir_emis infrared surface emissivity 1 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
surf_temp radiative temperature of the surface Kelvin float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
surf_wnum_ir Infrared surface emissivity frequencies cm-1 float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
tpause_pres tropopause pressure, where tropopause is determined according to the WMO definition Pa float32 9.9692099683869E+36 N/A N/A N/A
utc_tuple_lbl names of the elements of UTC when it is expressed as an array of integers year,month,day,hour,minute,second,millisecond,microsecond N/A OTHER N/A N/A N/A N/A
You're viewing 74 of 74