NASA says its Aqua spacecraft is now producing daily global measurements of carbon dioxide occurring in a key part of the Earth's atmosphere.
Space agency scientists say that is giving researchers another tool in their study of CO2, a leading greenhouse gas and a key driver of global climate change.
The satellite provides the data using its Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS, instrument.
Moustafa Chahine, AIRS science team leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the new data measure the concentration and distribution of carbon dioxide in the mid-troposphere — the region of Earth's atmosphere that is located 3-7 miles above Earth's surface.
The scientists said aid the findings represent the first-ever release of global carbon dioxide data that are based solely on observations.
NASA said AIRS observes and records the global daily distribution of temperature, water vapor, clouds and several atmospheric gases including ozone, methane and carbon monoxide.
"With the addition of the mid-tropospheric carbon dioxide data set this week, a seven-year digital record is now complete for use by the scientific community and the public," the space agency said.
The data were presented this week in San Francisco during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
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