Description
MOP03TM_9 is the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) Carbon Monoxide (CO) gridded monthly means (Thermal Infrared Radiances) version 9 data product. The "T" refers to the use of the Thermal (T) channels in the retrieval. It contains monthly mean-gridded daily Level 2 CO profile versions and total column retrievals. For this data product, the averaging kernels associated with each retrieval are also gridded and included in the Level 3 files. For a description of the file contents, refer to the File Spec Document. The MOPITT Level 2 Data Quality Statement contains additional information about the retrievals' quality and limitations. MOPITT was successfully launched into sun-synchronous polar orbit aboard Terra, NASA's first Earth Observing System spacecraft, on December 18, 1999. The MOPITT instrument was constructed by a consortium of Canadian companies and funded by the Space Science Division of the Canadian Space Agency. V9 is an improvement over V8 because of several scientific enhancements. These include a revision of the cloud filter to allow through a much higher number of pixels that were previously considered cloudy, a minor correction to the Forward Model to account for the long-term drift of the pressure in the gas cell, and a careful analysis of the NIR calibration process which reduces discontinuities associated with calibration events.