Daily Earth Maps from Space from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
Global Carbon Monoxide
Today's Near-Real-Time Satellite Feed
Last 3 Days Combined
Carbon Monoxide in parts per billion by volume at 500 millibar atmospheric pressure
(500 mbar pressure occurs at approximately 18,000 feet / 5,500 meters / 3.5 miles altitude)
Why does this map show carbon monoxide at the 18,000 ft altitude level?
AIRS can retrieve atmospheric data from different levels in the atmosphere. The level of the atmosphere at 18,000 ft is often used by atmospheric scientists to represent upper level flow conditions because it is well above the effects of topography and friction. This level is also below the region in the upper troposphere where the air flow may experience strong accelerations and decelerations when in the vicinity of the upper jet streams. Roughly half the mass of Earth's atmosphere's lies below 18,000 ft (5,500 m).
Since many weather systems tend to follow the wind flow at this level, 18,000 ft altitude is often considered to symbolize the steering level of these systems.
What do the colors mean?
The color bar is the key to reading the map. The bar will tell you the darkest purple color in the map shows where the carbon monoxide measurement is roughly 0 ppbv. Green is approximately 95 ppbv, and deepest red tops out at 160 ppbv.
Why are there "stripes" of color in the real-time map?
The AIRS instrument on the Aqua satellite orbits Earth from pole to pole. Imagine if you held a beach ball and tried wrapping a ribbon around the ball, going from top to bottom then bottom to top. Depending on the width of the ribbon, it can take many loops to cover the entire ball. AIRS orbits Earth 15 times a day--not enough orbits for AIRS to completely cover the globe. The black areas between the colored stripes show where AIRS has not yet retrieved data. We call these areas "gores". The stripes in the map shows where AIRS collected data in it's orbital path. We call this stripe a "swath".
> View an Aqua satellite orbit animation
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What do the black areas in the map signify?
In addition to the gores explained in the paragraph above, black areas can also show where the 500 millibar pressure surface intersects mountainous terrain, such as in the western part of North and South America and the Himalayas. Also, AIRS was designed to retrieve data in clear skies or skies with speckled or thin clouds, so black areas can also show where dense clouds have collected.
View Today's Data Granule Maps
AIRS data is sectioned into pieces called "granules".
DID YOU KNOW?
Forest fires, industrial and agricultural burning can create large amounts of carbon monoxide.