OCO-3: Space-Based Atmospheric CO2 Spectrometer Data

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) mission provides Level 1A attitude and ephemeris data for specific solar days. The dataset contains depacketized raw data from three high-resolution spectrometers measuring reflected sunlight at near-infrared wavelengths for CO2 and molecular oxygen. This retrospective processing (Version 11r) uses the full timeseries for calibration, aiming for higher quality input to the Level 1B retrieval process.

Use Cases

• Calibrating Level 1B atmospheric retrievals based on raw spectrometer data numbers (DN).
• Analyzing instrument performance and stability using the three independent spectrometer bands.
• Studying the spatial and temporal distribution of CO2 sources and sinks using the spacecraft's geolocation data.
• Validating spectral models for the 0.76, 1.61, and 2.06 micrometer absorption bands.

Strengths

• Retrospective processing (Version 11r) uses calibration data estimated from the full timeseries, which is expected to yield slightly higher quality.
• Each of the three spectrometer bands provides 1016 spectral elements, offering high spectral resolution.
• Data is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA Earthdata, Data.gov), indicating its importance and reliability.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across all sources.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to 'One Specific Solar Day', restricting longitudinal analysis.
• License information is inconsistently reported as 'other-license-specified' or null.

Provenance

Source

NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) mission, processed by GES DISC.

Collection Method

Space-based measurements from the LEOStar-2 spacecraft carrying three high-resolution spectrometers.

Time Range

One specific solar day (exact date not specified).

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03 12 22:49:38.597821 on two platforms.

Geography

Global coverage from the spacecraft's orbit.