CARVE Airborne Arctic Greenhouse Gas Columns 2012-2015

CARVE L2 Column Gas data provides total vertical and dry-air column measurements for O2, CO2, CH4, CO, and H2O over the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic. NASA collected this data using a Fourier Transform Spectrometer during airborne campaigns from 2012 to 2015, covering March through November each year to capture seasonal and inter-annual variability. This dataset is central to assessing changes in Arctic carbon cycling and threats from thawing permafrost.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal trends in Arctic atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations from the vertical column measurements.
• Investigating correlations between water vapor (H2O) and dry-air columns of carbon monoxide (CO) across flight campaigns.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of greenhouse gases over Alaska and Canada using georeferenced airborne data.
• Assessing inter-annual variability in atmospheric oxygen (O2) to support carbon cycle studies.
• Validating satellite-derived atmospheric composition data with in-situ airborne FTS measurements.

Strengths

• Data covers four consecutive years (2012-2015) with flights from March to November, enabling analysis of seasonal cycles.
• Measurements include both total vertical and dry-air columns for key gases, providing specific atmospheric concentration data.
• Collected via the CARVE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), a recognized instrument for precise atmospheric spectroscopy.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals its importance and institutional validation.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source, limiting detailed structural understanding.
• Conflicting last update dates exist: Data.gov lists 2026-03 13 (a future date), while NASA EarthData lists 2015-11-13.
• License is specified only as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov, with no details provided on NASA EarthData.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Airborne campaigns using the CARVE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) for Level 2 Quick Retrieval (L2QR) data.

Time Range

2012 to 2015

Freshness

2026-03-13 05:54:20.353736

Geography

Alaskan and Canadian Arctic