OCO-2 Level 1B: Calibrated Science Spectra for Atmospheric CO2

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission provides the first space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the precision needed to characterize its buildup. Its Level 1B product delivers calibrated radiances and geolocation from three high-resolution spectrometers measuring reflected sunlight at specific near-infrared wavelengths. A ~300-meter pointing error affecting data from January 28 to December 31, 2020, was identified and corrected in a reprocessing completed by June 2021.

Use Cases

• Validating and improving atmospheric transport models based on precise, space-based CO2 concentration measurements.
• Assimilating calibrated radiance data into retrieval algorithms to produce Level 2 carbon dioxide estimates.
• Studying the spectral characteristics of reflected sunlight in the O2 A-Band and CO2 bands for instrument cross-calibration.
• Analyzing global and regional trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide using geolocated, time-series data.

Strengths

• Data is from a dedicated NASA mission designed for high-precision, space-based CO2 measurement.
• Underwent a documented correction for a geolocation error, indicating quality control processes.
• Each spectrometer band provides 1016 spectral elements, suggesting high spectral resolution.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and a complete column list is unavailable across all platforms.
• Platforms list conflicting 'last updated' dates (2026-04-09 and 2022-03-01), creating uncertainty about freshness.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

NASA OCO-2 mission, processed and distributed by the GES DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the LEOStar-2 spacecraft carrying three high-resolution spectrometers.

Time Range

Coverage includes at least the period from January 28, 2020, onward, with specific reprocessing for 2020 data.

Freshness

2026-04 09 23:33:17.540015 (conflict with 2022-03-01 date noted)

Geography

Global coverage from the satellite's orbit.