[01] A. Parker, School of Engineering and Physical Science, James Cook University, Townsville QLD, Australia.

Recent papers and press releases have shown details of the latest results of the NASA OCO-2 experiment. Aim of this project is the tracking of the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, to understand the authentic geographical distribution of sources and sinks and the real diffusion and transport. The major downfall of the commented works is the lack of background information and discussion of the prior state-of-the-art and accuracy and reliability of the latest information. The NASA OCO-2 experimental satellite monitoring product is compared with prior similar experimental satellite monitoring products as the NASA AIRS or the JAXA GOSAT result. Similarly, the discrepancies vs. computational products as the NASA GEOS-5 predicted CO₂ concentrations are discussed. The major result that emerges from the latest monitoring is that our knowledge still need to progress considerably for a proper understanding of the carbon balance.

Satellite Monitoring, Global Warming, Ethics in Science, CO₂ Concentrations

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