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Full catalog/OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF
OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF·v10r·dataset

Faint glow from photosynthesizing plants (OCO-2, daily, v10)

OCO-2 Level 2 bias-corrected solar-induced fluorescence and other select fields from the IMAP-DOAS algorithm aggregated as daily files, Retrospective processing V10r (OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2
In plain English

What it measures. The faint glow that plants give off while photosynthesizing (solar-induced fluorescence), a direct signal of active plant growth, bundled into daily files with other selected fields.

How it's made. Derived from NASA's OCO-2 satellite spectrometers, bias-corrected and aggregated into convenient daily files (this version reflects a fix to an earlier pointing error).

How & where you'd use it. Lets scientists track how much plants are actually photosynthesizing across the globe, improving estimates of plant productivity, crop health, and the land carbon cycle.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS › ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDEBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › SOLAR INDUCED FLUORESCENCE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-09-06 → 2022-02-28
  • 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 10r is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and are superseded by Version 10r. The OCO-2 SIF Lite files contain bias-corrected solar induced chlorophyll fluorescence along with other select fields aggregated as daily files. In early 2021, the OCO Team identified an issue with OCO-2 level 2 products processed since January 28, 2020. The Ancillary Geometric Product (AGAP) file, a static file used in OCO-2 Geolocation processing, was inadvertently replaced with an obsolete version. This AGAP file included a ~300 m pointing error. As a result, all OCO-2 Level 2, version 10r, data files for the period January 28 - December 31, 2020, were corrected and replaced. The replacement process was completed by the end of June, 2021. The significance of this error has been described in Kiel et al. (2019; doi:10.5194/amt-12-2241-2019). 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. This collection encompass the output from the IMAP-DOAS preprocessor, which is used for both screening of the official XCO2 product as well as for the retrieval of Solar-Induced Fluorescence from the 0.76 micrometer O2 A-band. The IMAP-DOAS preprocessor, just as the ABO2 cloud screen, is implemented in the operational OCO-2 processing pipeline.

Get the data

oco2_l2_lite_sif_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF",
    version="10r",
    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.