OCO-2: Bias-Corrected Solar-Induced Fluorescence and Atmospheric Data

Version 11.2 of the OCO-2 Level 2 dataset provides daily, bias-corrected solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and other select fields from the IMAP-DOAS preprocessor. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) is NASA's first mission designed for space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, using three high-resolution spectrometers to measure reflected sunlight in specific near-infrared and oxygen bands. This data collection supports both screening for the official XCO2 product and the direct retrieval of SIF, a key indicator of photosynthetic activity.

Use Cases

• Quantifying global photosynthetic activity based on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) measurements.
• Analyzing atmospheric carbon dioxide sources and sinks using coincident spectrometer data from the 1.61 and 2.06 micrometer bands.
• Screening cloud-contaminated observations for the official XCO2 product using the IMAP-DOAS preprocessor output.
• Studying the relationship between plant stress and carbon uptake via daily-aggregated SIF data.
• Validating terrestrial biosphere and carbon cycle models with satellite-derived fluorescence and CO2 data.

Strengths

• Data is from a dedicated NASA satellite mission (OCO-2) designed for high-precision atmospheric CO2 measurements.
• Provides bias-corrected solar-induced fluorescence, a direct proxy for photosynthesis, processed through the operational IMAP-DOAS algorithm.
• Dataset is actively maintained, with a last updated date of 2026-04-09 noted on two platforms.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: column names, row counts, and file sizes are listed as unknown or 'None' across all sources.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without a clear definition or link to terms.
• One source entry lists no tags, license, author, or update date, indicating inconsistent metadata management.

Provenance

Source

NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission, processed by the GES_DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite observations from the OCO-2 instrument's three high-resolution spectrometers, processed through the IMAP-DOAS preprocessor in the operational pipeline.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-04-09 23:22:02.700936

Geography

Global, from satellite observations.