AIRS and AMSU: Trace Gases (CO2, CO, CH4, O3...); Level 3

AIRS provides satellite retrieval of mid-tropospheric carbon dioxide even under cloudy conditions, without the use of a priori information from models. AIRS retrievals use cloud-cleared thermal IR radiance spectra in the 15 micron band with an accuracy better than 2 ppm. AIRS retrievals have been used to produce global maps of carbon dioxide and other trace gases including ozone, methane, and carbon monoxide.

Key Strengths

Near global coverage with high horizontal and vertical resolutions and frequent sampling

Key Limitations

Inconsistent sampling with latitude

Please cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions

Dataset DOIs

None

Hosted Climate Index Files

None

Data Access

Usage Restrictions

None

Cite this page

Acknowledgement of any material taken from or knowledge gained from this page is appreciated:

National Center for Atmospheric Research Staff (Eds). Last modified 2022-09-09 "The Climate Data Guide: AIRS and AMSU: Trace Gases (CO2, CO, CH4, O3...); Level 3.” Retrieved from https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/airs-and-amsu-trace-gases-co2-co-ch4-o3-level-3 on 2026-04-28.

Citation of datasets is separate and should be done according to the data providers' instructions. If known to us, data citation instructions are given in the Data Access section, above.

Acknowledgement of the Climate Data Guide project is also appreciated:

Schneider, D. P., C. Deser, J. Fasullo, and K. E. Trenberth, 2013: Climate Data Guide Spurs Discovery and Understanding. Eos Trans. AGU, 94, 121–122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013eo130001

Key Figures

CO2 for February, 2012 derived from Level 3 version 5.9 AIRS and MSU retrievals. Ascending and descending nodes were combined. Top: average CO2; middle: standard deviation of observations; bottom: the observation count. (Climate Data Guide; D. Shea)