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CarbonTracker
 
FAQ (CT2007B)
Q1: I'm a member of the press and would like more information, to whom do I turn?
Q2: Can I use whatever I find on these pages?
Q3: How do I cite or acknowledge CarbonTracker work?
Q4: What data are available beyond those currently offered through FTP, and how do I get it?
Q5: Why is CarbonTracker almost a year behind the current date?
Q6: How reliable are your products?
Q7: Where can I find more technical details on CarbonTracker?
Q8: I'm having trouble using the CarbonTracker results, where can I get help?
Q9: Are CarbonTracker results available for earlier releases?

Q1: I'm a member of the press and would like more information, to whom do I turn?
A1: Please contact Pieter Tans (NOAA ESRL Carbon Cycle Group Chief) to discuss CarbonTracker, get the latest carbon cycle insights, or obtain additional material.

Q2: Can I use whatever I find on these pages?
A2: Yes, all our results are free to be used by the public, scientists, and others. This includes all figures, numbers, data files, and even the Fortran source code. We encourage you to contact us with questions to ensure proper representation of the results, and we welcome any feedback and possibility for cooperation. Please acknowledge the CarbonTracker efforts when you use them in your scientific endeavors.

Q3: How do I cite or acknowledge CarbonTracker work?
A3: We ask that scientific work that relies heavily on CarbonTracker products is discussed with us before publication, to ensure proper representation of our work and a co-authorship if appropriate. For suggestions, go to citation.

Q4: What data is available beyond that currently offered through FTP, and how do I get it?
A4: In addition to the available weekly global fluxes and North American mole fraction data, we can generate global 1x1 degree biological fluxes at 3-hourly resolution, as well as optimized mole fraction data for any other part of the world. We have time series of estimated fluxes for 50+ AmeriFlux eddy-covariance sites, optimized CO2 time series for 250+ locations worldwide, and routines to sample column CO2 abundances at other times of day to coincide with satellite overpasses of for instance AIRS or OCO. We also offer the full covariances of our estimated parameters to any interested parties. Please contact us to discuss the sharing of these results.

Q5: Why is CarbonTracker almost a year behind the current date?
A5: The data assimilation system in CarbonTracker relies on very accurate atmospheric CO2 mole fractions measured from a global monitoring network. Gathering this data, analyzing it, and especially quality controlling it is a job that involves many persons and many hours of meticulous work. As a result, the full set of data is not available until at least half a year after the current time, limiting the horizon for CarbonTracker results to be created. Since CarbonTracker results themselves require further scientific analysis and quality control, we use a lag of one full year for our releases. As we get more experienced and are able to streamline some of these tasks, we will try to push CarbonTracker closer to real-time.

Q6: How reliable are your products?
A6: The reliability of our products depends on the time and location that they are assessed. North American results will generally be more reliable than those in other parts of the world due to the focus of CarbonTracker on this region. Also, results that are aggregated in space (e.g., whole continents) or time (e.g., monthly averages) will be more robust than local or instantaneous estimates. For the fluxes, formal uncertainty estimates on the biological fluxes (full covariance matrices are available upon request) give some indication of the random errors we expect. However, systematic errors (e.g., biases) might dominate these at specific times and locations. Calculated mole fraction data will generally be reliable to within the specified errors at each site, while other mole fractions will be better constrained in the proximity of assimilated sites. Assessing our products against independent data and quantifying their reliability is an important and ongoing task for the CarbonTracker team. We welcome any help and assistance, or feedback you might have on this issue. The CarbonTracker team will generally quote conservative formal uncertainty estimates on all website products.

Q7: Where can I find more technical details on CarbonTracker?
A7: For technical details beyond the documentation pages, we suggest you read the literature, visit our Collaborators page, see our release notes, or contact us.

Q8: I'm having trouble using the CarbonTracker results, where can I get help?
A8: Send us an email describing in detail what you are trying to do, and what problem you run into. We will make every attempt to help you along.

Q9: Are CarbonTracker results available for earlier releases?
A9: Yes. Previous versions of CarbonTracker have been archived and are available here.