MOPITT Satellite Daily Gridded Carbon Monoxide Measurements

NASA's Terra satellite provides daily gridded means of carbon monoxide (CO) profiles and total columns in the troposphere, derived from near and thermal infrared radiances. The data is an unvalidated beta product from the MOPITT instrument, funded by the Canadian Space Agency and launched in December 1999. Collection for this version 109 product is ongoing.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily spatial patterns of tropospheric CO total columns from gridded retrievals.
• Studying temporal trends in CO profiles using the daily mean gridded data.
• Assessing retrieval quality by incorporating the gridded averaging kernels included in the Level 3 files.
• Monitoring global pollution levels via near and thermal infrared radiance measurements.

Strengths

• Provides daily temporal resolution for trend analysis.
• Includes gridded averaging kernels for retrieval quality assessment.
• Data collection is ongoing, offering continuous updates.

Limitations

• Product is an unvalidated beta version subject to recalibration.
• Specific row count, geographic extent, and data volume are unknown.
• Quality and limitations are detailed in a separate statement, requiring external review.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Terra spacecraft MOPITT instrument, funded by the Canadian Space Agency.

Collection Method

Satellite-based measurements of near and thermal infrared radiances, processed into daily gridded Level 3 means.

Time Range

Collection ongoing since instrument launch in December 1999.

Freshness

Data collection is ongoing; product was last updated in February 2025.

Geography

Global coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit.