The AIRS Carbon Monoxide (CO) Total Column (Night) layer indicates the amount of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in the total vertical column profile of the atmosphere (from Earth’s surface to top-of-atmosphere) and is measured in parts per billion by volume (ppbv).

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a poisonous, odorless and colorless gas. CO is produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass burning. It is a strong greenhouse gas. It is one of the longest-lived, naturally occurring atmospheric carbon compounds. AIRS data have provided detailed, daily global observation of transport of mid-tropospheric CO from biomass burning emissions.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is an instrument on board the Aqua satellite. The AIRS Carbon Monoxide Total Column science parameter is a parameter of the AIRS Level 2 standard physical retrieval product using AIRS only (AIRS2RET_NRT). The imagery resolution is 2 km and sensor resolution is 45 km. The temporal resolution is daily.

References: GES DISC - AIRS2RET_NRT: AIRS/Aqua L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006; GES DISC - Near Real-Time Data; AIRS: Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Brochure