Earth  ID: 30391

Monthly Carbon Monoxide (Terra/MOPITT)

Released on October 24, 2013
There is a newer version of this story located here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31076
Colorless, odorless, and poisonous, carbon monoxide is a major air pollutant regulated in the United States and in many other nations around the world. When carbon-based fuels, such as coal, wood, and oil burn, they produce carbon monoxide. These maps show monthly averages of carbon monoxide at an altitude of about 12,000 feet from March 2000 to the present, as derived using data from the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) sensor on NASA's Terra satellite. Concentrations of carbon monoxide are expressed in parts per billion by volume (ppbv). A concentration of 1 ppbv means that for every billion molecules of gas in the measured volume, one of them is a carbon monoxide molecule. In these maps, yellow areas have little or no carbon monoxide, while progressively higher concentrations are shown in orange, red, and dark red. In different parts of the world and in different seasons, the amounts and sources of atmospheric carbon monoxide change. In Africa, for example, the seasonal shifts in carbon monoxide are tied to the widespread agricultural burning that shifts north and south of the equator with the seasons. In the United States, Europe, and eastern Asia, on the other hand, the highest carbon monoxide concentrations occur around urban areas as a result of vehicle and industrial emissions.
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Monthly Terra/MOPITT carbon monoxide maps, March 2000 to the present.
 

Newer Version

Global Carbon Monoxide

Related

Visualizing Carbon Monoxide

For More Information

http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/Search.html?datasetId=MOP_CO_M

Credits

Marit Jentoft-Nilsen: Visualizer
Jesse Allen (Sigma Space Corporation): Visualizer
Based on images created by Jesse Allen, NASA's Earth Observatory, using data provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Toronto MOPITT Teams.

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Mission:
Terra

Data Used:
Terra/MOPITT/CO Mixing Ratio
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This item is part of this series:
NASA Earth Observations

Keywords:
SVS >> Carbon Monoxide
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
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