M2-SCREAM: Stratospheric Composition Reanalysis from NASA MERRA-2

Global three-dimensional, three-hourly assimilated fields of stratospheric constituents produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. The dataset covers hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO3), water vapor (H2O), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone from September 2004 to September 2024 at 0.5° by 0.625° resolution. It is generated by assimilating Aura MLS and OMI satellite retrievals into the GEOS Constituent Data Assimilation System driven by MERRA-2 meteorological fields.

Use Cases

• Analyze global trends in stratospheric ozone based on assimilated ozone fields
• Model stratospheric water vapor transport based on three-hourly H2O data
• Study stratospheric chemistry interactions using assimilated HCl and HNO3 concentrations
• Validate atmospheric models using the provided assimilation uncertainties for each constituent

Strengths

• Provides a 20-year time series from 2004/09/01 to 2024/09/30
• Includes assimilation uncertainties for each constituent as separate monthly files
• Offers global coverage at a spatial resolution of 0.5° by 0.625°

Limitations

• Data quality degradation is noted for H2O, N2O, and HNO3 after March 2024 due to reduced MLS retrieval availability
• Discontinuities exist in assimilated H2O and N2O fields after the June 2024 MLS version upgrade to v5.0
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Generated by assimilating MLS and OMI satellite retrievals into the GEOS Constituent Data Assimilation System (CoDAS) driven by MERRA-2 meteorological fields.

Time Range

2004/09/01 to 2024/09/30

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:44:06.244877; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global