OCO-2 GEOS: Daily Gridded Assimilated Carbon Dioxide

Daily global gridded estimates of atmospheric carbon dioxide (XCO2) are produced by assimilating Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite retrievals into the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. The dataset uses a 3D-Var data assimilation technique to gap-fill observations, addressing coverage gaps from OCO-2's narrow 10-km track and cloud interference. It provides a synthesized view of CO2 concentrations based on satellite measurements and atmospheric transport modeling.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global carbon dioxide distribution patterns based on assimilated satellite and model data.
• Validating and improving carbon cycle models using gap-filled, high-quality XCO2 estimates.
• Studying atmospheric transport of greenhouse gases using the GEOS model framework.
• Monitoring regional carbon sources and sinks from a continuous, gridded data product.

Strengths

• Uses the highest quality space-based XCO2 retrievals from the OCO-2 mission.
• Provides gap-filled global coverage via data assimilation, overcoming satellite observation limitations.
• Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) using the GEOS CoDAS system.

Limitations

• Dataset size, row count, and specific column schema are not provided in any source.
• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between platforms (2026-04-09 on datagov vs. 2022-02-28 on nasa_earthdata).
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further detail.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO)

Collection Method

Data assimilation (3D-Var state estimation) of OCO-2 Level 2 retrievals ingested every 6 hours into the GEOS model.

Freshness

2026-04-09 (most recent date from datagov, though this appears to be a future date and may be an error)

Geography

Global