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Description

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is a grating spectrometer (R = 1200) aboard the second Earth Observing System (EOS) polar-orbiting platform, EOS Aqua. The AIRS combination with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) constitutes an innovative atmospheric sounding group of infrared and microwave sensors. 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. Estimates of the errors associated with these quantities are also be part of the Standard Product. The temperature profile vertical resolution is 28 levels total between 1100 mb and 0.1 mb, while moisture profile is reported at 14 atmospheric layers between 1100 mb and 50 mb. The horizontal resolution is 50 km.

An AIRS granule has been set as 6 minutes of data, 30 footprints cross track by 45 lines along track. There are 240 granules per day, with an orbit repeat cycle of approximately 16 day.

Product Summary

Platforms
Aqua
Instruments
AIRS ,
AMSU-A
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2002-08-30 to 2016-09-25
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
C1701805641-GES_DISC
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
1214356
Processing Level
2
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Carbon Monoxide ,
Tropospheric Ozone ,
Geopotential Height ,
Tropopause ,
Methane ,
Atmospheric Ozone ,
Sulfur Dioxide ,
Surface Pressure ,
Outgoing Longwave Radiation ,
Surface Temperature ,
Air Temperature ,
Upper Air Temperature ,
Total Precipitable Water ,
Water Vapor Profiles ,
Cloud Liquid Water/Ice ,
Cloud Fraction ,
Cloud Height ,
Cloud Top Pressure ,
Cloud Top Temperature ,
Cloud Vertical Distribution ,
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

AIRS Project. (2020). Aqua/AIRS L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU) V7.0 [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/URTYDAGTM548 Date Accessed: 2026-05-17

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Development of fast LLR algorithms to retrieve atmospheric profiles from IRAS/FY3B infrared measurements Wang, Zhongyi, Jiang, Geng-Ming, Li, Shanshan Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Deriving the mean tropospheric temperature model using AIRS and AMSU for GNSS precipitable water vapour estimation Suwantong, Rata, Satirapod, Chalermchon, Srestasathiern, Panu, Kitpracha, Chaiyaporn Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Validation of a weather forecast model at radiance level against satellite observations allowing quantification of temperature, humidity, and cloudrelated biases Bani Shahabadi, Maziar, Huang, Yi, Garand, Louis, Heilliette, Sylvain, Yang, Ping Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Infrared Radiance
Quantifying the Hygroscopic Growth of Marine Boundary Layer Aerosols by Satellite-Based and Buoy Observations Luo, Tao, Yuan, Renmin, Wang, Zhien, Zhang, Damao Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Earth Infrared Radiation Spectra During Global Warming Hiatus Blanchette, Jeanne, Huang, Yi Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Compressive Earth observatory: An insight from AIRS/AMSU retrievals Ebtehaj, Ardeshir M., FoufoulaGeorgiou, Efi, Lerman, Gilad, Bras, Rafael L. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
The CM SAF ATOVS data record: overview of methodology and evaluation of total column water and profiles of tropospheric humidity Courcoux, N., Schroder, M. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
The impact of AIRS atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles on hurricane forecasts: Ike (2008) and Irene (2011) Zheng, Jing, Li, Jun, Schmit, Timothy J., Li, Jinlong, Liu, Zhiquan Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Droplet Concentration/Size, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Types, Precipitation Rate, Brightness Temperature
Uncertainties of satellite-derived surface skin temperatures in the polar oceans: MODIS, AIRS/AMSU, and AIRS only Kang, H.-J., Yoo, J.-M., Jeong, M.-J., Won, Y.-I. Carbon Monoxide, Geopotential Height, Tropopause, Methane, Atmospheric Ozone, Surface Pressure, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Water Vapor, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Temperature, Tropospheric Ozone, Sulfur Dioxide, Surface Temperature, Cloud Fraction
Retrieval of thermal tropopause height using temperature profile derived from AMSU-A of Aqua satellite and its application Cho, Young-Jun, Shin, Dong-Bin, Kwon, Tae-Yong, Ha, Jong-Chul, Cho, Chun-Ho Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Principal components of multifrequency microwave land surface emissivities. Part I: Estimation under clear and precipitating conditions Turk, F. Joseph, Haddad, Ziad S., You, Yalei Condensation, Evaporation, Sublimation, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Precipitable Water, Liquid Water Equivalent, Precipitation Rate, Rain, Heat Flux, Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles
... performance of GPS radio occultation measurements in retrieving tropospheric humidity in cloudiness: A comparison study with radiosondes, ERAInterim, and AIRS ... Vergados, Panagiotis, Mannucci, Anthony J., Ao, Chi O. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Dual-Doppler radar investigation of a convective rainband during the impact of the southwesterly monsoonal flow on the circulation of Typhoon Morakot (2009) WEI, Chih-Hsien, CHUANG, Yao-Chung, HOR, Tai-Hwa, LIAO, Chi-Chang, YEH, Nan-Ching Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Air quality simulations of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest evaluated with surface and satellite observations during the summers of 2007 and 2008 Herron-Thorpe, F. L., Mount, G. H., Emmons, L. K., Lamb, B. K., Jaffe, D. A., Wigder, N. L., Chung, S. H., Zhang, R., Woelfle, M. D., Vaughan, J. K. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
A mechanism of tropical convection inferred from observed variability in the moist static energy budget Masunaga, Hirohiko, LEcuyer, Tristan S. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
The potential roles of background surface wind in the SST variability associated with intraseasonal oscillations Kanemaru, Kaya, Masunaga, Hirohiko Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Monthly distribution of diurnal total column ozone based on the 2011 satellite data in Peninsular Malaysia Rajab, Jasim M., Lim, H.S., MatJafri, M.Z. Carbon Monoxide, Geopotential Height, Tropopause, Methane, Atmospheric Ozone, Surface Pressure, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Water Vapor, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Temperature, Cloud Fraction, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropospheric Ozone
A satellite study of tropical moist convection and environmental variability: A moisture and thermal budget analysis Masunaga, Hirohiko Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Validation of AIRS/AMSUA water vapor and temperature data with in situ aircraft observations from the surface to UT/LS from 87 N67 S Diao, Minghui, Jumbam, Loayeh, Sheffield, Justin, Wood, Eric F., Zondlo, Mark A. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Spatial and temporal variations of lower tropospheric methane during 20102011 in China Xu, Yuyue, Wang, Juanle, Sun, Jiulin, Xu, Yong, Harris, Warwick Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
Methane interannual distribution over Peninsular Malaysia from atmospheric infrared sounder data: 2003-2009 Rajab, Jasim M., MatJafri, M.Z., Lim, H.S. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Droplet Concentration/Size, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Types, Brightness Temperature, Precipitation Rate, Water Vapor, Humidity, Infrared Radiance
Mixtures of stratospheric and overshooting air measured using ATrain sensors Iwasaki, S., Shibata, T., Okamoto, H., Ishimoto, H., Kubota, H. Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice
A comparison of ISCCP land surface temperature with other satellite and in situ observations Jimenez, Carlos, Prigent, Catherine, Catherinot, Julie, Rossow, William, Liang, Pan, Moncet, JeanLuc Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Infrared Radiance
Using AIRS retrievals in the WRF-LETKF system to improve regional numerical weather prediction Miyoshi, Takemasa, Kunii, Masaru Air Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Geopotential Height, Methane, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Atmospheric Ozone, Total Precipitable Water, Sea Surface Temperature, Surface Pressure, Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropopause, Tropospheric Ozone, Upper Air Temperature, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Droplet Concentration/Size, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Types, Precipitation Rate, Brightness Temperature
Interannual variability of Atmosphere Methane from (AIRS) data over Peninsular Malaysia: 2003-2009 Rajab, Jasim Mohammed, MatJafri, M. Z., Lim, H. S., Abdullah, K. Carbon Monoxide, Geopotential Height, Tropopause, Methane, Atmospheric Ozone, Surface Pressure, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Water Vapor, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Temperature, Cloud Fraction, Surface Temperature, Sulfur Dioxide, Tropospheric Ozone, Cloud Droplet Concentration/Size, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Types, Brightness Temperature, Precipitation Rate, Infrared Radiance
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