MOPITT Satellite Carbon Monoxide Monthly Grids Version 9

MOP03TM_9 provides global monthly mean maps of tropospheric carbon monoxide concentrations derived from thermal infrared radiances measured by the MOPITT instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite. The version 9 product includes gridded daily Level 2 CO profiles, total column retrievals, and their associated averaging kernels, with scientific improvements over prior versions. Data collection began after the satellite's launch in December 1999 and is ongoing, with the dataset managed by NASA's LARC_CLOUD and the Canadian Space Agency.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in global atmospheric carbon monoxide concentrations using the gridded monthly mean total column data.
• Validating chemical transport models by comparing simulated CO profiles against the satellite-retrieved profile versions.
• Investigating regional pollution events and seasonal variations using the spatially gridded thermal infrared radiance data.
• Assessing the impact of calibration events and instrument drift via the improved NIR calibration analysis in version 9.
• Studying tropospheric chemistry by utilizing the included averaging kernels to understand retrieval sensitivity.

Strengths

• Version 9 includes specific scientific enhancements: a revised cloud filter increases usable pixel count, a forward model correction accounts for pressure drift, and NIR calibration analysis reduces discontinuities.
• Provides vertically resolved data, including CO profile versions and total column retrievals, along with gridded averaging kernels for error analysis.
• Data collection spans over two decades, offering a long-term record for trend analysis since the Terra satellite launch in 1999.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column names are not provided by any source, limiting precise technical assessment.
• Sources conflict on license information, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and another listing 'None'.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Terra satellite, carrying the MOPITT instrument built and funded by the Canadian Space Agency.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via thermal infrared radiances, processed into Level 2 retrievals and gridded into Level 3 monthly means.

Time Range

1999-12-18 to present (ongoing)

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:32:37.157103

Geography

Global coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit.