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Full catalog/CARVE_L2_AtmosGas_NOAA_1401
CARVE_L2_AtmosGas_NOAA_1401·v1·dataset

CO2, carbon monoxide and methane in Alaska's air (CARVE)

CARVE: L2 Atmospheric CO2, CO and CH4 Concentrations, NOAA CRDS, Alaska, 2012-2015
atmosphere NASA ORNL_CLOUD Level 2 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Concentrations of three important atmospheric gases over the Arctic, carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide, plus water vapor, measured directly in the air every couple of seconds during flights.

How it's made. Collected in flight by a laser-based gas analyzer (a cavity ring-down spectrometer) aboard a research aircraft during the CARVE campaign from 2012 to 2015.

How & where you'd use it. Crucial for understanding how carbon moves through the Arctic and the risks from thawing permafrost releasing stored greenhouse gases.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS › ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS › ATMOSPHERIC CARBON MONOXIDEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR INDICATORS › WATER VAPORATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS › METHANE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-05-23 → 2014-11-09
  • Measured byC-23 Sherpa
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-168.111, 60.2085, -131.755, 71.5622
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

This data set provides atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and water vapor (H2O) concentrations from airborne campaigns over the Alaskan and Canadian arctic for the Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE). The data were collected in situ using a cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS; Picarro Inc.) and are presented at 2-second intervals throughout each flight. Aircraft latitude, longitude, and altitude are also provided. Flight campaigns took place from 2012 to 2015 between the months of March and November to enable investigation of both seasonal and inter-annual variability in atmospheric gas content. The measurements included in this data set are crucial for understanding changes in Arctic carbon cycling and the potential threats posed by thawing of Arctic permafrost.

Get the data

carve_l2_atmosgas_noaa_1401_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CARVE_L2_AtmosGas_NOAA_1401",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from ORNL_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.