NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) has released the SAGE III/ISS L2 Solar Event Expedited Data (HDF5) Version 6 product (g3bsspexp_6) for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III on the International Space Station (ISS). This dataset provides near-real-time Level 2 expedited data of solar occultation events for monitoring vertical profiles of ozone, aerosols, and water vapor in Earth's atmosphere.
The g3bsspexp_6 has a latency of about 1 day using Goddard Earth Observing System for Instrument Teams (GEOS-IT) for pressure/temperature (p/T) fields, compared with the standard product latency of about 3-7 weeks using Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) p/T. Images of expedited data will continue to be available at the SAGE mission page.
SAGE III is the newest and most advanced addition to the SAGE family of instruments, which were designed by NASA to observe stratospheric ozone, aerosols, and water vapor from space. Launched in February 2017 and mounted externally on the ISS, the mission's primary objective is to provide long-term monitoring of ozone vertical profiles of the stratosphere and mesosphere.
SAGE III uses a technique called occultation: looking at light from the Sun or Moon as it passes through Earth's atmosphere at the edge, or limb. The instrument takes important measurements of atmospheric composition over 70% of the planet, aiding in studies of aerosols, clouds, and key trace gases like nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor.
Technical Details
- Temporal coverage: The past 3 months to present (data will have a 3-month rolling window)
- Spatial coverage: Global (Longitude: -180 to 180, Latitude: -90 to 90); Vertical spatial domains from a minimum altitude of 500 m to a maximum altitude of 100 km
- File format: HDF5
- Processing level: Level 2
Access Information
Users can access this data through:
- NASA’s Earthdata Search
- NASA’s CMR Virtual Directories
For more information, visit the dataset landing page below.
For questions about this data release or assistance with data access, please contact the ASDC User Services team or visit the Earthdata Forum.