MultiInstrumentFusedXCO2: Daily Gridded Satellite Carbon Dioxide

NASA's Multi-Instrument Fused bias-corrected XCO2 dataset provides daily gridded carbon dioxide mole fraction (XCO2) and other select variables. The data is produced by applying local kriging to daily aggregates of bias-corrected observations from the OCO-2 and GOSAT satellites. This Level 4 product represents a fused, spatially interpolated view of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial patterns of atmospheric CO2 based on fused satellite observations.
• Validating and calibrating global carbon cycle models using gridded XCO2 data.
• Studying daily variations in carbon dioxide concentrations from a satellite perspective.
• Assessing the impact of bias correction and kriging interpolation on satellite-derived CO2 products.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from two major satellite instruments (OCO-2 and GOSAT), providing a multi-instrument perspective.
• Applies bias correction and optimal interpolation (kriging) to create a consistent gridded product.
• Maintained by NASA, indicating institutional authority and likely rigorous processing standards.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing, including specific column names, row counts, and file sizes.
• Conflicting last-update dates exist between platforms (2026-03-12 on Data.gov vs. 2020-07-31 on NASA Earthdata).
• The 'other-license-specified' license on Data.gov is not detailed, creating potential usage ambiguity.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Local kriging (optimal interpolation) applied to daily aggregates of bias-corrected OCO-2 and GOSAT satellite data.

Freshness

2026-03-12 (from Data.gov, though conflicting with NASA Earthdata date)

Geography

Global (implied by satellite observation)