GLDAS_NOAH10_M: Global Land Surface Variables Monthly 1.0 Degree, 2000-Present

NASA's GLDAS-2.1 Noah model provides 36 monthly land surface fields from January 2000 to the present. The data is generated by temporally averaging 3-hourly simulations forced with a combination of model and observational data, including NOAA/GDAS and GPCP precipitation. This version, reprocessed in January 2020, uses a MODIS land mask to correct inland water representation.

Use Cases

• Modeling global soil moisture and temperature trends based on the 36 included land surface fields.
• Analyzing long-term precipitation and evaporation patterns based on the combined meteorological forcing data.
• Studying snow and ice dynamics in the terrestrial hydrosphere based on the model's surface water outputs.
• Validating other climate or hydrological models against this assimilated land surface dataset.

Strengths

• Contains 36 distinct land surface fields for comprehensive analysis.
• Provides a temporally consistent record from January 2000 to present.
• Post-processed with a MODIS land mask to correct inland water representation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data latency is approximately 1.5 months for early products and 3-4 months for the main production stream.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Generated through temporal averaging of GLDAS-2.1 Noah 3-hourly data simulated with the Noah Model 3.6 in the Land Information System (LIS).

Time Range

January 2000 to present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 02:28:41.744150; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global at 1.0 x 1.0 degree resolution