OCO-2 Lite: Daily Bias-Corrected Atmospheric CO2

Daily aggregated satellite data provides bias-corrected column-averaged atmospheric carbon dioxide (XCO2) concentrations. The dataset originates from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission, which uses three high-resolution spectrometers to measure reflected sunlight in specific near-infrared and oxygen A-band wavelengths. It is designed to characterize the processes controlling the buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere with high precision and spatial resolution.

Use Cases

• Tracking regional and global carbon dioxide fluxes based on daily, bias-corrected XCO2 measurements.
• Validating and improving terrestrial and oceanic carbon cycle models using satellite-derived atmospheric concentration data.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of CO2 concentrations for climate change impact assessments.
• Studying seasonal and interannual variability in atmospheric carbon dioxide from a continuous satellite record.

Strengths

• Data is from a dedicated NASA satellite mission (OCO-2) designed for high-precision CO2 measurement.
• Contains bias-corrected XCO2 values, which suggests a processed, science-ready product.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals its importance and official status.

Limitations

• Column names and a complete data dictionary are not provided in the source metadata, limiting detailed understanding of fields.
• Conflicting version information exists between sources (V11r vs. V11.2r), and exact temporal coverage is unspecified.
• Specific row counts and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

Collection Method

Satellite measurements from the OCO-2 spacecraft's three high-resolution spectrometers.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:34:04.361419

Geography

Global