TES/Aura L2 Carbon Dioxide Nadir V008: Satellite Atmospheric Profiles

Data collection for this product is complete, covering the operational period of the TES instrument aboard NASA's Aura satellite from its launch on July 15, 2004. The TL2CO2N_8 dataset provides retrieved vertical profiles of carbon dioxide concentration from nadir-pointing observations, along with estimated errors, geolocation, and quality flags. Each global survey cycle, consisting of up to 16 consecutive orbits, performed 4,608 individual atmospheric retrievals.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global and regional trends in tropospheric carbon dioxide concentrations based on retrieved vertical profiles.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry and transport models using satellite-derived CO2 profile data and geolocation information.
• Studying the impact of surface characteristics on satellite retrievals using the provided ancillary data for nadir observations.
• Investigating changes in observation strategy by comparing data before and after the April 24, 2005, switch from two to three low-resolution scans.

Strengths

• Provides a specific, processed data product (Level 2) with retrieved atmospheric profiles and error estimates, not raw sensor data.
• Offers a high observation density, with a single global survey performing 4,608 retrievals over 16 consecutive orbits.
• Dataset is hosted and described on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata), indicating established provenance and use.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing or conflicting: row/record count and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• The 'last updated' metadata field shows a significant discrepancy, with one source listing 2026 (a future date) and another 2018, casting doubt on metadata maintenance.
• Documentation of the exact data structure and file contents is sparse, requiring users to seek additional technical documentation.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on the Aura satellite.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via nadir observations, with atmospheric profiles retrieved by comparing observed spectra to radiative transfer models.

Time Range

From the Aura satellite launch on July 15, 2004, through the completion of TES data collection. The operational period includes a change in observation strategy on April 24, 2005.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:25:46.054403 (Data.gov); however, this is a future date and conflicts with the NASA Earthdata update of 2018-01-22.

Geography

Global, from satellite orbits.