OCO-3: Space-Based Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Spectra from the ISS

OCO-3 is the first NASA mission dedicated to space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the precision needed to characterize its buildup. Deployed to the International Space Station in May 2019, its three high-resolution spectrometers measure reflected sunlight at specific near-infrared and oxygen A-band wavelengths. These calibrated spectra support a Bayesian retrieval algorithm for estimating surface pressure and albedo while screening for clouds and aerosols.

Use Cases

• Estimating surface pressure and albedo based on the O2 A-band retrieval algorithm.
• Screening for clouds and aerosols in measurement scenes based on differences between modeled and measured radiances.
• Analyzing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations using near-infrared spectrometer measurements at 1.61 and 2.06 micrometers.
• Characterizing the processes controlling CO2 buildup in the atmosphere based on the mission's designed precision and coverage.

Strengths

• Data is from a current, operational NASA mission (OCO-3) deployed in May 2019.
• Incorporates three independently calibrated, high-resolution spectrometers for coincident measurements.
• Employs a sophisticated Bayesian retrieval algorithm for geophysical parameter estimation.

Limitations

• Column names and dataset size (rows, file size) are not provided in any source, limiting understanding of data structure and scale.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2026-04 09 and 2023-08-08), creating uncertainty about data freshness.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) instrument on the International Space Station.

Collection Method

Space-based measurements of reflected sunlight by three high-resolution spectrometers.

Time Range

Measurements began after deployment in May 2019; dataset is at processing Version 10.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:32:08.580091

Geography

Global coverage from the International Space Station's orbit.