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Full catalog/OCO2_L2_CO2Prior
OCO2_L2_CO2Prior·v11.2·dataset

Expected carbon dioxide background levels (OCO-2)

OCO-2 Level 2 CO2 prior based on CO2 monthly flask record, global meteorology, and age of air V11.2 (OCO2_L2_CO2Prior) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. An estimate of the expected, or background, amount of carbon dioxide in the air before the satellite's actual measurement is made, used as a starting reference.

How it's made. Calculated for the OCO-2 mission from a long-term record of CO2 air samples, global weather data, and the estimated age of the air, rather than from a direct satellite reading.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes building-block input for producing OCO-2's carbon dioxide measurements; most people use it indirectly through the final CO2 products.

What's measured

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

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2019-11-30 → ongoing
  • Measured byOCO-2 (OCO-2)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • 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

Version 11.2 is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and are superseded by Version 11.2. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is the first NASA mission designed to collect space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the precision, resolution, and coverage needed to characterize the processes controlling its buildup in the atmosphere. The OCO-2 project uses the LEOStar-2 spacecraft that carries a single instrument. It incorporates three high-resolution spectrometers that make coincident measurements of reflected sunlight in the near-infrared CO2 near 1.61 and 2.06 micrometers and in molecular oxygen (O2) A-Band at 0.76 micrometers.

Get the data

oco2_l2_co2prior_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="OCO2_L2_CO2Prior",
    version="11.2",
    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.