Earth Data School
About
Full catalog/OCO2_L2_CO2Prior
OCO2_L2_CO2Prior·v11r·dataset

Best-guess carbon dioxide before measuring (OCO-2)

OCO-2 Level 2 CO2 prior based on CO2 monthly flask record, global meteorology, and age of air, Retrospective Processing V11r (OCO2_L2_CO2Prior) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. Not an actual measurement of the air, but a best-guess starting estimate of carbon dioxide levels, built from a long record of CO2 flask samples, weather data, and how old the air is.

How it's made. Produced for NASA's OCO-2 mission as a prior input, calculated from monthly CO2 records and global meteorology rather than from the satellite's own light readings.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes building block that helps the OCO-2 retrieval estimate actual CO2; most people use the final CO2 products rather than this prior directly.

What's measured

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

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-09-01 → 2024-04-01
  • Measured byOCO-2 (OCO-2)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • 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

Version 11r is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and are superseded by Version 11r. 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="11r",
    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.