CEOS EO HANDBOOK – INSTRUMENT SUMMARY - Spectrometer (OCO-2) -
Full Name Spectrometer (OCO-2) Status Operational
Instrument Agencies NASA Maturity
Instrument Type Atmospheric chemistry Geometry Steerable viewing
Instrument Technology High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer Sampling Sounding
Data Access Open Access Data Format HDF-5, NetCDF
Measurements and Applications Global measurements of atmospheric CO2 and SIF needed to describe the variability of CO2 sources and sinks.
Resolution Summary 2.25 km downtrack, variable cross-track
[Best Resolution: 2250m]
Swath Summary Varies from 0.1 km at the sub-solar latitude to 10.6 km at terminators
[Max Swath: 10 km]
Accuracy Summary Provide the data needed to yield single sounding estimates of XCO2 with one sigma errors of <= 2 ppm
Waveband Summary 0.76 µm, 1.61 µm, 2.06 µm
NIR (~0.75 µm - ~1.3 µm)
Instrument Measurements
Measurements Overview
CategoryParameter
Trace gases (excluding ozone)CO2 Mole Fraction
Thematic Links Global Climate Observing System Essential Climate Variables (GCOS ECVs)
ECVDescriptionProduct(s)ECV Inventory 3.0 Record(s)
Carbon Dioxide, Methane and other Greenhouse gases click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Instrument Missions
OCO-2 - Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (2014 - 2026)