OCO-3: Satellite-Derived Meteorological Parameters for Carbon Dioxide Soundings

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) was deployed to the International Space Station in May 2019. The instrument uses three high-resolution spectrometers to measure reflected sunlight, providing precise atmospheric carbon dioxide data. This dataset contains Version 11 meteorological parameters interpolated from a global assimilation model for each sounding.

Use Cases

• Characterizing processes controlling atmospheric carbon dioxide buildup based on high-resolution spectrometer measurements.
• Cloud and aerosol screening for atmospheric models based on the Oxygen-A Band algorithm described.
• Estimating surface pressure and albedo using the described fast Bayesian retrieval on O2 A-band spectra.
• Validating clear-sky radiative transfer models based on the forward model assumptions mentioned.

Strengths

• Data is from a NASA mission specifically designed for precise, space-based CO2 measurements.
• Version 11 is the current, superseding version, indicating ongoing processing and updates.
• Incorporates three independently calibrated spectrometers for coincident measurements.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to the satellite's orbit and collection period.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the OCO 3 instrument on the International Space Station using high-resolution spectrometers.

Time Range

Collection began after deployment in May 2019; specific end date is unknown.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:34:27.091384; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from the International Space Station's orbit.