# NOAA ATOVS Sounding Products
*data products*

## Specifications
- **level**: L2
- **distributor**: noaa
- **file format**: NOAA CLASS archive product
- **access endpoint**: https://www.class.noaa.gov/release/data_available/tovs_atovs/index.htm
- **access model**: open
- **licence**: NOAA public data
- **cost model summary**: Free public archive access through NOAA CLASS.
- **primary data portal url**: https://www.class.noaa.gov/release/data_available/tovs_atovs/index.htm
- **use cases**: ["Temperature and humidity profile retrieval","Operational polar-orbiting sounder archive","Global atmospheric sounding"]
- **practical limitations**: ["ATOVS is a heritage multi-instrument sounding package; current operational use has shifted toward newer sounders and retrieval systems.","The product family includes variables beyond temperature and humidity profiles."]
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **entity type**: data_product
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-14
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: noaa
- **attributes**: {"level":"L2","distributor":"noaa","file_format":"NOAA CLASS archive product","access_endpoint":"https://www.class.noaa.gov/release/data_available/tovs_atovs/index.htm","access_model":"open","licence":"NOAA public data","cost_model_summary":"Free public archive access through NOAA CLASS.","primary_data_portal_url":"https://www.class.noaa.gov/release/data_available/tovs_atovs/index.htm","use_cases":"[\"Temperature and humidity profile retrieval\",\"Operational polar-orbiting sounder archive\",\"Global atmospheric sounding\"]","practical_limitations":"[\"ATOVS is a heritage multi-instrument sounding package; current operational use has shifted toward newer sounders and retrieval systems.\",\"The product family includes variables beyond temperature and humidity profiles.\"]","deployment_context":"orbital"}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
NOAA ATOVS Sounding Products are open Level 2 atmospheric sounding products distributed through NOAA CLASS for the TOVS and ATOVS product family.[^noaa-class-atovs][^noaa-class-tovs-search] The archive covers temperature and humidity profiles and related atmospheric products from polar-orbiting satellites.[^noaa-class-atovs] ATOVS is a heritage multi-instrument sounding package; current operational workflows have shifted toward newer sounders and retrieval systems, so buyer evaluation should treat it as archive and continuity data rather than a current-generation feed.[^noaa-class-atovs][^noaa-class-tovs-search] Access is open public archive access through NOAA CLASS, with free public distribution for the listed product family.[^noaa-class-atovs] The product family is relevant for global atmospheric sounding, historical retrieval work, and workflows that need temperature and humidity profile records from NOAA's polar-orbiting sounder archive.[^noaa-class-atovs][^noaa-class-tovs-search] It is not an imagery product; its use cases center on profile retrieval and polar-orbiting sounder archive access.[^noaa-class-atovs]

## Compositional position
- atmospheric-profiling (topics) --[topic_capabilities]--> NOAA ATOVS Sounding Products

## Sources
- [noaa-class-atovs] | TOVS/ATOVS data availability, NOAA CLASS | https://www.class.noaa.gov/release/data_available/tovs_atovs/index.htm | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [noaa-class-tovs-search] | TOVS product family search, NOAA CLASS | https://www.aev.class.noaa.gov/saa/products/search?datatype_family=TOVS | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/data_products/noaa-atovs-sounding-products
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)