Corrupted HDF4 chunk in 3 AIRIBRAD (V005) granules — year 2014

[dengchuangwu]

Dear GES DISC Help Desk,

We are writing for assistance with a data-quality issue in the AIRIBRAD product (AIRS/Aqua L1B Infrared geolocated and calibrated radiances, Version 005; DOI 10.5067/YZEXEVN4JGGJ) served by GES DISC. Three 2014 granules each contain one internally corrupted data chunk in the radiances dataset that cannot be decompressed by any HDF4-based reader. We would appreciate verification on the
DAAC side and, if confirmed, re-ingestion / re-serving of these granules.

Affected granules (HDF-EOS / HDF4 .hdf; the radiances dataset has shape 135 × 90 × 2378, i.e. 135 along-track scans × 90 cross-track × 2378 channels):
- Granule 1: AIRS.2014.06.10.047.L1B.AIRS_Rad.v5.0.22.0.G14161111358.hdf
corrupted scan: 122 (0-based index of the 135 along-track scans)
- Granule 2: AIRS.2014.07.20.207.L1B.AIRS_Rad.v5.0.22.0.G14202104547.hdf
corrupted scan: 59
- Granule 3: AIRS.2014.08.16.030.L1B.AIRS_Rad.v5.0.22.0.G14228103832.hdf
corrupted scan: 82

Diagnosis summary:
- The three files are fully downloaded (sizes 55.9, 59.2 and 60.2 MB) and are not truncated, so this is not a transfer error.
- The corruption is confined to exactly one along-track scan (1 of 135) per file, in the internal gzip-compressed HDF4 chunk for that scan.
- The defect is in the file itself, not in any single decoder: three independent HDF4-based tools — netCDF4 (HDF4 SD interface), pyhdf (SD), and the GDAL HDF4 driver — all fail deterministically and at the identical chunk when reading that one scan, while the other 134 scans read back correctly.
- The remaining 134 scans of each granule are intact and scientifically usable.
We can provide the downloaded files, exact byte ranges, or decoder tracebacks on request.

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Diagnostic information
resolution; no passwords included)
- Earthdata login userid: dengchuangwu
- Specific URL accessed: https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/AIRIBRAD_005/summary
- Date and time of access: 2026-09-12
- General type of research: Using AIRS infrared radiances to study cloud–radiation coupling and atmospheric gravity-wave signals.
- Data product / data set / variable searched for: Product AIRIBRAD (AIRS/Aqua L1B IR radiances, Version 005); variable of interest: radiances.
- Platform / OS: PC / Windows 10
- Application used: Custom Python processing pipeline that retrieves HDF-EOS granules directly; not Giovanni, WMS, or OPeNDAP.
- Significant error messages seen: Reading the affected scan raises an HDF4 library I/O error during gzip decompression of that scan's chunk. Observed consistently across netCDF4, pyhdf (SD), and the GDAL HDF4 driver (all fail at the same chunk); the remaining 134 scans read normally. We can attach the full Python tracebacks if helpful.

Thank you for your help and for maintaining the AIRS archive.

[GES DISC - thearty]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have verified that there is a problem with these granules and will invite the AIRS project management to comment on this issue. In the mean time, we suggest that you not use these granules.