Atmosphere Data Access and Tools

Earth observation data range from measuring the light reflected by snow and ice to tracking the atmospheric conditions around hurricanes. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Commonly Used Datasets for Applications in Atmosphere

Dataset	Geographic Region	Temporal Extent	Data Format	Potential Application Areas	Related Subtopics
Aqua/AIRS L3 Daily Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU) 1 degree x 1 degree V7.0	Global	2002-08-31 to 2016-09-25	HDF-EOS	Global atmospheric temperature profile monitoring Water vapor distribution and humidity analysis Tracking of greenhouse gas concentrations, especially CO2 Weather forecasting and model initialization Cloud property characterization across the globe Atmospheric research on multiple vertical layers	air quality, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric water vapor, clouds, weather events
CALIPSO Lidar Level 1B profile data, V4-51	Global, Troposphere, Stratosphere, Boundary Layer	2006-06-12 to 2023-06-30	HDF4	Raw lidar backscatter measurement analysis for atmospheric composition studies Development and validation of aerosol and cloud retrieval algorithms Detection of thin clouds, aerosol layers, and boundary layer heights Study of nighttime versus daytime atmospheric structure differences Detection of stratospheric features including polar stratospheric clouds	aerosols, atmospheric chemistry, clouds
CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 Aerosol Profile, V4-51	Global, Troposphere	2006-06-11 to 2023-06-30	HDF4	Aerosol vertical structure mapping Aerosol data integration in climate modelling Aerosol long-term distribution trends Aerosols and their effect on cloud formation and cloud properties Air quality monitoring Tracking long-range aerosol transport patterns globally Input data for calculating Earth’s radiation budget	aerosols, atmospheric chemistry
CALIPSO Lidar Level 2 Cloud Profile, V4-51	Global, Troposphere	2006-06-11 to 2023-06-30	HDF4	Global 3D cloud structure mapping and classification Detection and characterization of optically thin cirrus clouds Multi-layer cloud analysis for atmospheric radiation studies Climate model validation and improvement of cloud parameterizations Study of cloud formation and evolution processes Investigation of cloud-aerosol interactions and their climate impacts Monitoring of polar clouds and their seasonal variations Identification of cloud thermodynamic phase (ice/water) distribution	aerosols, clouds
ECOSTRESS Tiled Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Instantaneous L2 Global 70 m	Global Land	2018-07-09 to Present	Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG)	Environmental temperature extremes monitoring	atmospheric temperature
GLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 3 hourly 0.25 x 0.25 degree V2.1	Global Land	2000-01-01 to Present	NetCDF	Evapotranspiration assessment for water cycle studies Land-atmosphere interaction studies Weather prediction model improvement Energy flux analysis between land and atmosphere	atmospheric pressure, atmospheric radiation, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric winds, precipitation, weather events
LIS/OTD 0.5 Degree High Resolution Full Climatology (HRFC) V2.3.2015	Global	1995-05-04 to 2014-12-31	HDF4 NetCDF-4	Global lightning distribution and frequency analysis Long-term lightning trend studies Severe storm risk assessment across regions Thunderstorm energetics research Global electrical circuit modeling	atmospheric electricity, weather events
MAIAC Daily V01	Global	2015-06-13 to Present	PNG	Urban air quality assessment and monitoring Support for regional climate and air quality modeling Detailed aerosol transport tracking near source regions Time series analysis of aerosol patterns with daily temporal resolution	aerosols
MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_flx_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-Averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Surface Flux Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4	Global	1980-01-01 to 2025-04-01	NetCDF	Surface energy balance studies and monitoring Heat flux quantification between surface and atmosphere Land-atmosphere moisture exchange assessment	altitude, atmospheric radiation, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric winds, precipitation
MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_rad_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-Averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Radiation Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4	Global	1980-01-01 to 2025-04-01	NetCDF	Solar and thermal radiation budget analysis Cloud radiative effect studies Long-term radiation trend analysis	atmospheric radiation, atmospheric temperature, clouds
MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_slv_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-Averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Single-Level Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4	Global	1980-01-01 to 2025-04-01	NetCDF	Weather pattern analysis and atmospheric dynamics research Extreme weather event investigation Boundary layer process research Air quality model input for pollution studies Wind resource assessment for renewable energy Validation of weather prediction models Long-term climate trend analysis	altitude, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric winds, clouds, weather events
MODIS/Aqua Aerosol 5-Min L2 Swath 10km - NRT	Global	2002-05-04 to Present	HDF GeoTiff	Near real-time air quality monitoring Dust storm detection and monitoring Rapid response to volcanic ash events	aerosols, atmospheric radiation
MODIS/Aqua Cloud Mask and Spectral Test Results 5-Min L2 Swath 250m and 1km	Global	2002-07-04 to Present	HDF	Weather forecasting model initialization Clear-sky scene identification for other applications Cloud cover analysis for climatology studies Surface observation filtering based on cloud presence Cloud property retrieval preprocessing Solar energy resource assessment	clouds, weather events
MODIS/Terra Aerosol 5-Min L2 Swath 10km - NRT	Global	2017-10-11 to Present	HDF GeoTiff	Morning air quality condition assessment Transboundary pollution monitoring Dust storm tracking across continental scales Air quality forecast model data assimilation Early warning for deteriorating air quality	aerosols, air quality, atmospheric radiation
MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Aerosol Optical Depth Daily L2G Global 1 km SIN Grid	Global	2022-08-01 to Present	HDF	Daily air quality assessment and monitoring Regional pollution pattern analysis Smoke and dust plume mapping Long-range pollution transport tracking Climate forcing by aerosols research Combined morning/afternoon aerosol pattern analysis	aerosols, air quality
MODIS/Terra Clouds 5-Min L2 Swath 1km and 5km	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF	Cloud optical thickness and effective radius mapping Cloud phase (water/ice) determination Weather system analysis and tracking Cloud top pressure and temperature monitoring Climate model validation for cloud properties Radiation budget calculations	atmospheric radiation, atmospheric pressure, clouds, precipitation, weather events
PACE OCI Level-2 Regional Cloud Optical Properties - NRT Data, version 3.0	Global	2024-03-05 to Present	NetCDF-4	Cloud microphysical property monitoring Weather system characterization Radiation budget studies Climate model validation Cloud evolution tracking Storm intensity analysis	atmospheric radiation, clouds, precipitation, weather events
RSS SSMIS OCEAN PRODUCT GRIDS DAILY FROM DMSP F16 NETCDF V7	Global	2003-10-26 to Present	NetCDF-4	Daily ocean surface wind speed monitoring Marine weather forecasting support Climate variability studies over ocean regions Tropical cyclone intensity monitoring	atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric winds, clouds, precipitation, weather events
VIIRS/NOAA20 Cloud Mask and Spectral Test Results 6-Min L2 Swath 750m	Global Daytime	2012-03-01 to Present	NetCDF-4	Weather forecasting support Clear-sky determination for surface observations Cloud detection for aviation operations Cloud climatology studies Radiation budget analysis input	aerosols, atmospheric radiation, clouds, weather events
VIIRS/Suomi-NPP Cloud Mask 6-Min Swath 750 m	Global	2012-03-01 to Present	NetCDF	Clear/cloudy pixel identification Cloud fraction estimation Weather pattern analysis Cloud climatology development Radiative transfer modeling input	clouds, weather events

Dataset	Geographic Region	Temporal Extent	Data Format	Potential Application Areas	Related Subtopics
ACTIVATE Falcon In-Situ Meteorological and Navigational Data	North America, Northern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, Atlantic Ocean, Troposphere	2020-02-10 to 2022-06-20	ICARTT	Validation data for satellite and remote sensing observations Observation of local meteorological conditions during aerosol-cloud interaction events Boundary layer dynamics characterization Numerical weather prediction model verification Analysis of atmospheric conditions during science flights	aerosols, atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric winds, weather events
Daymet: Annual Climate Summaries on a 1-km Grid for North America, Version 4 R1	Atlantic Ocean, North America	1950-01-01 to 2023-12-31	GeoTIFF	Regional climate trend analysis	atmospheric radiation, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric water vapor, precipitation
High-resolution mean North American methane fluxes for 2010-2015 optimized with GOSAT satellite data V1	North America	2010-01-01 to 2015-12-31	NetCDF	Methane emission hotspot identification across North America Validation of greenhouse gas inventory reporting	atmospheric chemistry
Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) CPEX V1	Atlantic Ocean	2017-05-24 to 2017-07-16	NetCDF-3	Cloud microphysics process understanding Air-sea interaction studies during convective events	precipitation, weather events
Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on TRMM Science Data V4	Tropics	1998-01-01 to 2015-04-08	HDF4 NetCDF-4	Tropical and subtropical lightning activity monitoring Thunderstorm intensity characterization Rainfall estimation improvement in tropical regions Severe weather climatology across the tropics Global electrical circuit studies Lightning-nitrogen oxide production estimation Tropical convective system research Climate change impact assessment on thunderstorm activity	atmospheric electricity, precipitation, weather events
LIS 0.1 DEGREE VERY HIGH RESOLUTION GRIDDED LIGHTNING ANNUAL CLIMATOLOGY (VHRAC) V1	Tropics	1998-01-01 to 2013-12-31	NetCDF-4	Global lightning distribution pattern analysis Severe storm climatology studies Thunderstorm activity trend analysis Climate model validation for convective processes	atmospheric electricity, weather events
MODIS/Terra Aerosol 5-Min L2 Swath 10km - NRT	Global	2017-10-11 to Present	HDF GeoTiff	Morning air quality condition assessment Transboundary pollution monitoring Air quality forecast model data assimilation	aerosols, air quality, atmospheric radiation
NLDAS Primary Forcing Data L4 Hourly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0	North America	1979-01-01 to 2025-04-29	NetCDF	Energy demand modeling based on weather conditions	atmospheric temperature, atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric winds, precipitation, weather events
STAQS JSC GV GEOstationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) Airborne Simulator Data	North America	2023-06-26 to 2023-08-17	NetCDF-4 KMZ	Study of trace gas distributions and their diurnal variations Investigation of pollution transport and atmospheric chemistry processes Development of retrieval algorithms for future satellite missions Integration with atmospheric models for improved pollution forecasting	atmospheric chemistry
TEMPO gridded formaldehyde total column V03 (PROVISIONAL)	North America	2023-08-01 to Present	NetCDF-4	Tracking of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources Assessment of industrial emissions and their spatial distribution Study of wildfire smoke plume chemistry and composition Investigation of formaldehyde as an ozone precursor in pollution events Evaluation of diurnal patterns in atmospheric chemistry processes	aerosols, atmospheric chemistry
TEMPO gridded NO2 tropospheric and stratospheric columns V03 (PROVISIONAL)	North America	2023-08-01 to Present	NetCDF-4	High-temporal resolution monitoring of urban and industrial NO2 pollution Study of NO2 transport and chemical transformation processes Investigation of weekend/weekday emission pattern differences Monitoring of stratospheric NO2 variations and their influences on tropospheric chemistry Integration with air quality forecasting models for improved predictions	air quality, atmospheric chemistry
TEMPO NO2 tropospheric and stratospheric columns V03 (PROVISIONAL)	North America	2023-08-01 to Present	NetCDF-4	Hourly monitoring of nitrogen dioxide pollution across North America Observation of NO2 plume transport and dispersion processes throughout the day Separation of tropospheric pollution from stratospheric NO2 influences Study of diurnal chemical transformation processes affecting NO2 concentrations Near real-time air quality assessment	air quality, atmospheric chemistry
TEMPO ozone total column V03 (PROVISIONAL)	North America	2023-08-01 to Present	NetCDF-4	High-temporal resolution monitoring of total ozone column across North America Detection of stratospheric ozone intrusions affecting air quality Tracking of diurnal patterns in tropospheric ozone formation and destruction Monitoring of seasonal variations in both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone Validation and improvement of air quality forecasting models	air quality, atmospheric chemistry
Quality Controlled Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on International Space Station (ISS) Science Data V2	Tropics	2017-03-01 to 2023-11-16	NetCDF-4 HDF4	Mid-latitude lightning activity monitoring Diurnal cycle research of thunderstorm activity Severe weather nowcasting improvement Validation of ground-based lightning detection networks Atmospheric chemistry studies related to lightning NOx production Climate model thunderstorm parameterization improvement Global lightning mapping with extended coverage Lightning safety research and applications	atmospheric electricity, weather events

Atmosphere Datasets

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Dataset	Version Sort ascending	Platforms	Instruments	Temporal Extent	Spatial Extent	Spatial Resolution	Data Format
GOZCARDS Source Temperature 1 month L4 10 degree Zonal Averages on a Vertical Pressure Grid V1 (GozSmlpT) at GES DISC	1	MERRA	NOT APPLICABLE	1979-01-01 to 2012-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
GPM Ground Validation Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU) OLYMPEX V1	1	GROUND STATIONS	APU	2015-01-10 to 2016-01-31	N: 48.3871 S: 47.2025 E: -123.478 W: -124.369		ASCII
Annual Summary of Artificial Light At Night from VIIRS/S-NPP at CONUS County and Census Tract V1 (ALAN_VIIRS_CONUS) at GES DISC	1	Suomi-NPP	VIIRS	2012-01-01 to 2020-12-31	N: 49.99792 S: 20.00208 E: -60.00208 W: -129.9979
BOREAS AFM-05 Level-2 Upper Air Network Standard Pressure Level Data	1	METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS, BALLOONS	ANEMOMETERS, BAROMETERS, HUMIDITY SENSORS, THERMOMETERS, RADIOSONDES	1993-08-16 to 1996-10-22	N: 59.98 S: 50.09 E: -93.5 W: -111		ASCII
ABLE-2A Electra In-Situ Aerosol Data	1	NASA ELECTRA	NOT APPLICABLE	1985-07-11 to 1985-08-15	N: 37.1 S: -7.2 E: -47.48 W: -76.3		GTE
GPM GROUND VALIDATION NCAR CLOUD MICROPHYSICS PARTICLE PROBES MC3E	1	UND CITATION II	2DC, CIPS, HVPS-3	2011-04-22 to 2011-06-02	N: 37.5 S: 35.5 E: -96.5 W: -98.5		ASCII
Climatological Monthly Frequency of Dust Storm over Land for Varying Intensities, Based on MODIS Terra Deep Blue Level 2 Aerosol Products MOD04_L2 Collection 6.1, on a Global 0.1 by 0.1 Degree Grid, Level 3 Version 1 (MODFDS_CLM_GLB_L3) at GES DISC	1	Terra	MODIS	2000-01-01 to 2022-12-31	N: 79.9 S: -80 E: 174.9 W: -175
GRIP GLOBAL HAWK NAVIGATION AND HOUSEKEEPING DATA V1	1	GLOBAL HAWK	GPS, INS	2010-08-15 to 2010-09-24	N: 37.068 S: 12.0902 E: -71.4565 W: -124.4		ASCII - XML
NCSU Soundings IMPACTS	1	GROUND STATIONS	RAWINSONDES	2020-02-20 to 2023-02-12	N: 35.777 S: 35.757 E: -78.623 W: -78.643		netCDF-4
ECMWF SMST Data	1	ECMWF		2025-08-01 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	0.1 Decimal Degrees x 0.1 Decimal Degrees	netCDF-3

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Atmosphere Data Tools

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Tool Sort descending	Description	Services
SeaBASS	SeaBASS is public archive of ocean and atmosphere data captured in situ. The archive is maintained by NASA's Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG).	Downloading
SOOT	NASA's Sub-Orbital Order Tool (SOOT) provides users with suborbital field campaign data discovery and download capabilities.	Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization
VEDA	NASA's Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis (VEDA) project is an open-source science cyberinfrastructure for data processing, visualization, exploration, and geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities.	Access, Analysis, Processing, Visualization, Geoprocessing
Worldview	Worldview offers the capability to interactively browse over 1,200 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and download the underlying data.	Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization, Access, Comparison, Monitoring Natural Events

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