Multi-Satellite Lambertian Equivalent Reflectivity (Noon Normalized) 10-Day L3 Global 2.0x5.0deg Lat/Lon Grid V1 (MSLERNNL3d10)

The Multi-Satellite Lambertian Equivalent Reflectivity (Noon Normalized) 10-Day L3 Global 2.0x5.0deg Lat/Lon Grid data product is derived from multi-satellite Solar Backscatter UltraViolet (SBUV) observations made by the Nimbus-7 SBUV, and NOAA 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18 SBUV/2 instruments at 340 nm. The Noon Normalized (NN) data have been corrected to local noon equator crossing time. The NN correction was applied only to data between latitudes 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south due to insufficient diurnal data at higher latitudes. The table below lists the date ranges for each instrument (note A = ascending node, D = descending node):

Instrument Start Date End Date ------------------ ---------- ---------- Nimbus-7 SBUV 1978-11-01 1990-06-21 NOAA-9 SBUV/2 (A) 1985-02-02 1991-09-03 NOAA-9 SBUV/2 (D) 1990-04-25 1997-05-31 NOAA-11 SBUV/2 (A) 1988-12-01 1995-03-31 NOAA-11 SBUV/2 (D) 1997-07-15 2001-03-26 NOAA-14 SBUV/2 (A) 1995-02-05 2002-09-11 NOAA-14 SBUV/2 (D) 2002-04-09 2006-09-28 NOAA-16 SBUV/2 (A) 2000-10-03 2009-09-15 NOAA-16 SBUV/2 (D) 2008-04-28 2012-12-31 NOAA-17 SBUV/2 2002-07-10 2012-12-31 NOAA-18 SBUV/2 2005-06-05 2012-12-12

The scene reflectivities of the Earth at blue and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths (320 nm to 415 nm) are low over most surfaces (except ice and snow), and are almost independent of the seasonal changes in vegetation on land and in the oceans. This makes it ideal for examining changes in radiation reflected back to space from changes in cloud and aerosol amounts, especially as affected by the start of climate change.

The MSLERNNL3d10 data are archived in the HDF-EOS5 file format using the Grid model. The product consists of a single data file representing the entire data set containing the noon-normalized reflectivites in a single latitude versus longitude versus time data field array or variable. The data array contains attributes describing the variable, and the file contains metadata stored in the HDFEOS file attribute section.