TES/Aura L1B Spectra Special Observation Low Resolution V006

TL1BSOL_6 is the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES)/Aura L1B Spectra Special Observation Low Resolution Version 6 data product. TES was an instrument aboard NASA's Aura satellite and was launched from California on July 15, 2004. Data collection for TES is complete. TES Level 1B Spectra data contains radiometric calibrated spectral radiances and their corresponding noise equivalent spectral radiances (NESR). The geolocation, quality, and some engineering data were also provided. Each L1B data file contains spectra data composed of the Global Survey Nadir observations from a single TES orbit starting from the South Pole Apex. A nadir sequence within the TES Global Survey was a fixed number of observations within an orbit for a Global Survey. Before April 24, 2005, it consisted of two low-resolution scans over the exact ground locations. After April 24, 2005, Global Survey data consisted of three low-resolution scans. The Nadir standard product consisted of four files, each file composed of the Global Survey Nadir observations from one of four focal planes for a single orbit, i.e., 72 orbit sequences. The Global Survey Limb observations used a repeating sequence of filter wheel positions. Special Observations could only be scheduled during the 9 or 10 orbit gaps in the Global Surveys and were conducted in any of three basic modes: stare, transect, step-and-stare. The mode used depended on the science requirement. A Global Survey consisted of observations along 16 consecutive orbits at the start of a two-day cycle, over which 4,608 retrievals were performed (1,152 nadir retrievals and 1,152 retrievals in time-ordered sequence for each limb observation). Each observation was the input for retrievals of species volume mixing ratios (VMRs), temperature profiles, surface temperature, and other data parameters with associated pressure levels, precision, total error, vertical resolution, total column density, and other diagnostic quantities. Each TES Level 2 standard product reported information in a swath format conforming to the HDF-EOS Aura File Format Guidelines. Each Swath object was bounded by the number of observations in a global survey and a predefined set of pressure levels representing slices through the atmosphere. Each standard product could have had a variable number of observations depending upon the Global Survey configuration and whether averaging is employed. Also, missing or bad retrievals were not reported. The Global Survey Limb observations use a repeating sequence of filter wheel positions. Special Observations can only be scheduled during the 9 or 10 orbit gaps in the Global Surveys and are conducted in any of three basic modes: stare, transect, step-and-stare. The mode used depends on the science requirement.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated May 18, 2026, 21:45 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 19:23 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 8f10a441-1162-4c05-ace1-1337658e0753
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.5067/AURA/TES/TL1BSOL_L1.006
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-05-14T22:12:41Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 12b2fa221079a73f24786f6cdc271986c8b3ff23556cd452bd3e1d6a9eecee5a
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN",[{"WestBoundingCoordinate":-180,"NorthBoundingCoordinate":90,"EastBoundingCoordinate":180,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-90}]]
temporal 2004-09-13/2018-01-22
theme {"Earth Science"}