Atmospheric Composition Data Products from the EOS Aura MLS

The EOS Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) has been flown on the Aura Spacecraft (15 July 2004) along with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES). The Aura MLS is an improved version of the UARS MLS instrument, with better spatial resolution and coverage, extended vertical range, and capability of measuring some new chemical constituents never measured before globally from space. MLS will continue the very valuable long-term record of atmospheric compositions measurements made by the UARS sensors.

Since launch, MLS has been providing simultaneous global measurement of vertical profiles of several atmospheric chemical constituents (O3, HCl, ClO, HOCl, BrO, OH, H2O, HO2, HNO3, N2O, CO, HCN, volcanic SO2), cloud ice, geopotential height, and temperature of the atmosphere for the understanding of atmospheric chemical processes, ozone depletion, and how atmospheric constituents affect air quality and the climate. MLS measurements of upper tropospheric water vapor, ice content, ozone, CO, and N2O will be used for studying their effects on radiative forcing of climate change and for the understanding of troposphere-stratosphere exchange. These measurements will also be valuable for the air quality models in quantifying the role of the upper tropospheric pollutants.

The standard atmospheric chemistry and dynamics products derived from MLS are archived at NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) and are available free (http://acdisc.gsfc.nasa.gov) to the public.

This presentation will provide highlights of standard MLS data products, including data support (e.g. web based data visualization, data sub-setting, and read software) provided by the GES DISC in support of users of MLS data.