The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC) Version 2.24 collection has now been released. Version 2.24 extends the dataset coverage from January 1st, 1979 to December 31st, 2025, and includes several minor revisions. This release includes the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station (SAGE III/ISS) version 6.0 and Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) version 7.4.
Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data have been unavailable since January 2022. To close the gap, the current version uses a two-step approach: SAGE III/ISS data are first temporally interpolated, followed by the use of time-interpolated OSIRIS data to fill remaining gaps in regions beyond 60°S/N.
GloSSAC provides a long-term data record of stratospheric aerosol particles derived primarily from satellite observations. Spanning from 1979 to the present, the database was originally developed to help climate models understand how stratospheric aerosols affect our climate for the satellite era.
The dataset primarily uses measurements from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) series up until mid-2005. After that, it relies on two other instruments: Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO). The team also added data from SAGE III on the International Space Station to bring the record up to the present day and to verify methods for combining different measurements.
To create a complete picture, the team fills in any missing information using data from additional satellites, as well as ground-based stations. The result is a comprehensive, worldwide dataset with no gaps, primarily tracking aerosol extinction, a measure of how these particles scatter and absorb light at two specific wavelengths (525 and 1020 nanometers), along with other measurements when available.
Technical Details
- Temporal coverage:1979-01-01 – 2025-12-31
- Spatial coverage:-80degrees South, 80 degrees North, -180 degrees West, 180 degrees East
- File format:netCDF-4
- Processing level:3
For questions about this data release or assistance with data access, please contact the ASDC User Services team or visit the Earthdata Forum.