Air pollution gases, near real-time (PACE OCI)
What it measures. Daily global maps of two pollution-related gases in the air column: nitrogen dioxide and ozone, totaled from the surface up through the atmosphere.
How it's made. Derived quickly (near real-time) from the OCI instrument on NASA's PACE satellite, using best-available weather and ozone inputs, so the calibration is rougher than the final product.
How & where you'd use it. Supports air-quality and atmospheric chemistry studies, and helps correct ocean-color measurements; users should apply the included quality flags to screen out clouds and bad retrievals before relying on it.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span2024-03-05 → ongoing
- Measured byPACE (OCI)
- Processing levelLevel 3
- Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
- FormatsnetCDF-4
- 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
The Ocean Biology DAAC produces near real-time (NRT) products using the best-available combination of ancillary data from meteorological and ozone data. As such, the inputs and the calibration used are less than optimal. Near real-time products provide a snapshot of the data during a short time period within a single orbit. The Trace Gas Concentrations (TRGAS) suite provides key atmospheric column constituents. These trace-gas fields support both atmospheric science (e.g., air-quality and chemistry studies) and ocean-color atmospheric correction. Users should apply the quality and L2 flags to screen cloud effects, high solar-zenith conditions, and other retrieval issues before analysis. Geophysical variables in this suite include: - total_column_no2 – total vertical column nitrogen dioxide (molecules cm⁻²) - total_column_o3– total vertical column ozone (Dobson units)
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="PACE_OCI_L3M_TRGAS_NRT",
version="3.0",
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 OB_CLOUD Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package. Official links
- OPeNDAP Site for PACE OCI Standard Mapped Image (SMI) Product USE SERVICE API
- Earthdata Search allows users to search, discover, visualize, refine, and access NASA Earth Observation data. GET DATA
- View the version history of this product. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- NASA's Ocean Color Web - Data Distribution Site GET DATA
- PACE Homepage VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- OCI Homepage VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Satellite data procesing can be difficult. We're here to help! Visit the Oceandata Help Hub to navigate learning content for accessing visualizing, and analyzing data products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for Trace Gas Concentrations (NO2, O3) - Near Real-time (NRT) VIEW RELATED INFORMATION