AIRS Global Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) measurements (2002-October 2023)

This data visualization shows the global distribution and variation of the concentration of mid-tropospheric carbon dioxide observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the NASA Aqua spacecraft over a 20 year timespan. One obvious feature that we see in the data is a continual increase in carbon dioxide with time, as seen in the shift in the color of the map from light yellow towards red as time progresses. Another feature is the seasonal variation of carbon dioxide in the northern hemisphere, which is governed by the growth cycle of plants. This can be seen as a pulsing in the colors, with a shift towards lighter colors starting in April/May each year and a shift towards red as the end of each growing season passes into winter. The seasonal cycle is more pronounced in the northern hemisphere than the southern hemisphere, since the majority of the land mass is in the north.

The visualization includes a data-driven spatial map of global carbon dioxide. The timeline showcases the monthly timestep and is paired with the adjusted carbon dioxide value. Areas where the air pressure is less than 750mB (areas of high-altitude) have been marked in the visualization as low data quality (striped) areas.

Data Sources

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR-only Level 3 CLIMCAPS: Comprehensive Quality Control Gridded Monthly V2 (SNDRAQIL3CMCCP), which is a monthly product of global coverage and of spatial resolution 1x1 degrees.

The visualizations included on this page, utilize the variable co2_vmr_uppertop from the CLIMCAPS product. Areas where the air pressure is less than 750mB (areas of high-altitude) and below 60 degrees South have been marked in the visualization as low data quality (striped areas). In addition, areas with data gaps and of high altitude less than 5% of the resolution of the product have been filled using the nearest neighbor algorithm.

Citation: Chris Barnet (2019), Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR-only Level 3 CLIMCAPS: Comprehensive Quality Control Gridded Monthly V2, Greenbelt, MD, USA, Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC), Accessed: [March 4, 2024], doi: 10.5067/ZPZ430KOPMIX

Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide by NOAA. The visualizations on this page feature de-seasonalized mean value measurements from the Mauna Loa CO2 monthly mean data for the period September 2002-October 2022, Accessed: [March 4, 2023].

Citation: Dr. Pieter Tans, NOAA/GML gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/ and Dr. Ralph Keeling, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (scrippsco2.ucsd.edu).

Citation: Keeling, Ralph F; Keeling, Charles D. (2017). Atmospheric Monthly In Situ CO2 Data - Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (Archive 2021-09-07). In Scripps CO2 Program Data. UC San Diego Library Digital Collections. https://doi.org/10.6075/J08W3BHW

Continental and country outlines from the Scientific Visualization Studio, NASA/GSFC.