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Full catalog/OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF
OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF·v11.2r·dataset

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

OCO-2 Level 2 bias-corrected solar-induced fluorescence and other select fields from the IMAP-DOAS algorithm aggregated as daily files, Retrospective processing V11.2r (OCO2_L2_Lite_SIF) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 2 active
In plain English

What it measures. Captures the faint glow that plants give off while photosynthesizing, called solar-induced fluorescence, bundled into daily files. This glow is a direct sign that vegetation is actively growing.

How it's made. Derived from sunlight measurements by the OCO-2 satellite's spectrometers, bias-corrected and gathered into daily summaries.

How & where you'd use it. Used to gauge plant productivity and photosynthesis across landscapes, helping researchers track crops, forests, and how ecosystems respond to drought and seasons.

What's measured

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

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2014-09-01 → 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 11.2r is the current version of the data set. The OCO-2 SIF Lite files contain bias-corrected solar induced chlorophyll fluorescence along with other select fields aggregated as daily files. 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="11.2r",
    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.