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Full catalog/ML2CO_NRT
ML2CO_NRT·v005·dataset

Carbon monoxide high in the atmosphere, near real-time (MLS, Aura)

MLS/Aura Near-Real-Time L2 Carbon Monoxide (CO) Mixing Ratio V005 (ML2CO_NRT) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. How much carbon monoxide is present at different heights high in the atmosphere, given as a near-global profile from the upper troposphere into the stratosphere.

How it's made. Retrieved from microwave measurements by the MLS instrument on the Aura satellite, using a fast simplified method so the data are ready within about three hours of observation.

How & where you'd use it. Useful for quickly tracking carbon monoxide, a marker of pollution and fires, though the speed comes at the cost of accuracy, so it needs careful screening before use.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS › ATMOSPHERIC CARBON MONOXIDE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2021-09-21 → ongoing
  • Measured byAura (MLS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -82, 180, 82
  • StatusACTIVE

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

ML2CO_NRT is the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) Near-Real-Time (NRT) product for carbon monoxide (CO). This product contains CO profiles derived from the 240 GHz region. The NRT data are typically available within 3 hours of observation and are broken into files containing about 15 minutes of data. The most recent 7 days of data are available online. Spatial coverage is near-global (-82 degrees to +82 degrees latitude), with each profile spaced 1.5 degrees or ~165 km along the orbit track (roughly 15 orbits per day). The vertical coverage is from 215 to 0.1 hPa. The MLS NRT algorithm uses a simplified fast forward model to meet Near Real Time data latency requirements and are therefore not as accurate as the retrievals that constitute the standard MLS products. Nevertheless the results are scientifically useful in selected regions of the Earth's atmosphere provided that the data are screened according to the recommendations in the MLS NRT User Guide and the MLS L2 Data Quality Document for Standard Products.

Get the data

ml2co_nrt_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="ML2CO_NRT",
    version="005",
    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 GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.