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Carbon Monoxide Data Access and Tools

NASA has carbon monoxide datasets that help researchers characterize trace and major gases comprising Earth's atmosphere. Access a range of data and data tools such as AppEEARS, FIRMS, and Giovanni to make the most of carbon monoxide data.

Many NASA observation methods—platforms, instruments, and space geodesy techniques—provide data that improve our understanding of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere including the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument, and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) featured below.

Commonly Used Carbon Monoxide Data at a Glance

Descriptions of these measurements will be reviewed in more detail later in this Data Pathfinder. The following sections will help guide you to topic-specific data and resources for accessing, visualizing, preparing/manipulating (e.g. subsetting), and analyzing data. Each observation, model, and reanalysis data has unique characteristics that should be considered when evaluating its use.

An asterisk (*) next to an entry indicates that near real-time (NRT) data products are available through NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). While not intended for scientific research, NRT data are good resources for monitoring ongoing or time-critical events. To learn more about the difference between NRT and Standard Science Products, see Near Real Time versus Standard Products.

Spatial ResolutionSpatial CoverageTemporal ResolutionTemporal CoverageSpectral ResolutionSatellite/ PlatformName (Sensor, Model, etc.)Observation, Model, or ReanalysisFile Format
50 km x 50 kmGlobal6 minutes2002-present2,378 infrared channels in the 3.74-15.4 micron spectral rangeAqua*AIRSObservationHDF-EOS
165 km x 3 kmNear-globalTwice daily [day, night]2004-presentAt millimeter and submillimeter wavelengthsAqua*MLSObservationHDF-EOS5
~22 kmGlobalDaily, Monthly2000-presentnear-infrared radiation at 2.3 µm and thermal-infrared radiation at 4.7 µmTerra*MOPITTObservationHDF-EOS5
5.5 km x 7 kmGlobal101.5 minutes2018-present270 nm-2.3 µm, 0.55 nmSentinel-5PTROPOMIObservationnetCDF
0.25º x 0.25°Global15 min, HourlyDaily 5-day forecastN/AN/AGEOS-CFModelnetCDF
0.25º x 0.312°Global3-hourlyNear-real time assimilation (DAS), 10-day forecast at 00z and 5-day forecast at 12zN/AN/AGEOS FPAnalysisnetCDF
Point measurementsGlobalPeriodic flights occurred during each deployment2016-2018variesAirborne Field CampaignAtmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) campaign with varying instrumentsObservationnetCDF

Carbon Monoxide Data Tools

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Featured Carbon Monoxide Observation Method: MLS
The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) flies aboard the Aura platform and is a passive microwave radiometer/spectrometer that measures vertical profiles of atmospheric gases, temperature, pressure, and cloud ice. MLS can detect carbon monoxide and its measurements are acquired globally day and night and can be obtained in the presence of ice clouds and aerosols. MLS data is often used in Stratospheric ozone layer stability, climate change, and air quality research. An MLS also was also aboard NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS).
Learn More About MLS
image collage of satellite data images of Earth

MLS Near Real-Time Data

Near real-time atmosphere, temperature, humidity, and cloud ice data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) are available through NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE).
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MLS Products Available in GIBS

In coordination with the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) team, we now have several MLS products available through the GIBS image access APIs.

Carbon Monoxide Datasets

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Dataset Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Location Keywords Spatial Extent Data Format
AIRS/Aqua L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006 (AIRS2RET_NRT) at GES DISC Aqua AIRS 2016-10-15 to Present GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
AIRS/Aqua L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Support Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006 (AIRS2SUP_NRT) at GES DISC Aqua AIRS 2016-10-15 to Present GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Aqua/AIRS L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS-only) V7.0 at GES DISC Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Aqua/AIRS L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Support Retrieval (AIRS-only) V7.0 at GES DISC Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
ATom: CO2, CH4, and CO Measurements from Picarro, 2016-2018 NASA DC-8 Picarro G2401 2016-07-26 to 2018-05-21 GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 ICARTT
Country Trends in Major Air Pollutants MODELS Computer 2003-01-01 to 2018-12-31 AFGHANISTAN, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANDORRA, ANGOLA N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Excel, PDF, PNG
LBA-ECO CD-10 CO Concentrations at km 67 Tower Site, Tapajos National Forest FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS IRGA 2001-04-18 to 2003-08-29 N: -2.857 S: -2.857 E: -54.959 W: -54.959 CSV
NACP MsTMIP: Global 0.5-degree Model Outputs in Standard Format, Version 2.0 COMPUTERS Computer 1900-01-01 to 2010-12-31 GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 multiple
Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Near-Real-Time (NRT) Carbon Monoxide CO Column 1-Orbit L2 5.5km x 7km V2 (S5P_L2__CO_____HiR_NRT) at GES DISC Sentinel-5P TROPOMI 2025-01-27 to Present GLOBAL N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
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