MAPS SRL2: Global Carbon Monoxide Measurements from Space Shuttle, 1994

NASA's Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) experiment provides second-by-second carbon monoxide (CO) mixing ratio data from the Space Radar Laboratory-2 (SRL-2) mission in 1994. The instrument used gas filter radiometry to measure CO concentrations in the middle troposphere at an altitude of 7-8 km. This data was collected to evaluate global CO sources, chemistry, and seasonal variation, with a focus on biomass burning during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

Use Cases

• Modeling global carbon monoxide transport based on tropospheric concentration measurements.
• Analyzing seasonal changes in CO emissions from biomass burning events mentioned in the description.
• Studying the impact of human activities on atmospheric chemistry based on the mission's stated goal.
• Correcting satellite data for cloud interference using the described N2O calibration signal.

Strengths

• Data originates from a dedicated NASA Space Shuttle mission (SRL-2) in 1994.
• Measurements target a specific atmospheric layer (middle troposphere at 7-8 km altitude).
• Instrument design includes a described N2O channel for cloud detection and data correction.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific 1994 mission; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected via the MAPS gas filter radiometry instrument onboard the Space Shuttle during the SRL-2 mission.

Time Range

1994

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:45:04.846975; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global survey, with focus on biomass burning regions in South America, Africa, Australia, and northern boreal zones.