OCO-3: Space-Based Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Measurements

OCO-3 Level 2 data provides geolocated retrievals of the column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of carbon dioxide (XCO2) from the International Space Station. The dataset is produced by three high-resolution spectrometers measuring reflected sunlight in specific near-infrared and oxygen A-band wavelengths. It supports the characterization of processes controlling atmospheric CO2 buildup.

Use Cases

• Monitoring regional carbon fluxes based on precise XCO2 retrievals.
• Validating and improving atmospheric transport models using geolocated CO2 data.
• Studying diurnal variations of CO2 from the ISS sun-synchronous orbit.
• Screening for clouds and aerosols using the Oxygen-A Band algorithm.
• Analyzing long-term trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

Strengths

• Represents the current Version 10 of the data, superseding all older versions.
• Derived from a NASA mission specifically designed for high-precision, space-based CO2 measurements.
• Incorporates three independently calibrated spectrometers for coincident measurements at key wavelengths.
• Data is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA Earthdata, Data.gov), indicating its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Specific column names, data size, and row counts are not provided in the available metadata.
• The dataset's operational time range is not explicitly stated, though collection began after the May 2019 deployment.
• License is listed as 'other-license-specified' without detailed terms provided.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via high-resolution spectrometers measuring reflected sunlight.

Time Range

Collection likely began after deployment in May 2019; specific end date not provided.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to two platform entries.

Geography

Global coverage from the International Space Station's orbit.