GLDAS_CLSM10_M: Global Land Surface Variables Monthly at 1.0 Degree

NASA's GLDAS-2.1 Catchment Land Surface Model provides 34 monthly land surface fields from January 2000 to the present. The data are generated by temporally averaging 3-hourly simulations forced with a combination of model and observational data, including NOAA/GDAS and GPCP precipitation. The dataset is post-processed with a MODIS land mask to correct inland water representation.

Use Cases

• Modeling global soil moisture and temperature dynamics based on the 34 land surface fields.
• Analyzing long-term trends in terrestrial water storage and precipitation based on the data's temporal coverage from 2000 onward.
• Validating regional climate models using the 1.0-degree gridded land surface output.
• Studying land-atmosphere interactions using the combined model and observation forcing data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Provides a continuous temporal series from January 2000 to the present.
• Contains 34 distinct land surface fields for comprehensive analysis.
• Post-processed with a MODIS land mask to improve data quality over inland water bodies.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data latency is described as approximately 1.5 months for early products and 3-4 months for the main stream, which may affect near-real-time applications.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Generated through temporal averaging of GLDAS-2.1 3-hourly data simulated with the Catchment-F2.5 Land Surface Model in Land Information System (LIS) Version 7.

Time Range

January 2000 to present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:29:20.395591; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global at 1.0 x 1.0 degree resolution