MERRA-2 M2C0NXCTM: Constant Model Parameters for Chemistry Transport

Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) is a global atmospheric reanalysis produced by NASA GMAO. The M2C0NXCTM collection provides 2-dimensional constant model parameters for usage by chemistry transport models, such as the fraction of lake, land, ice, or ocean within a model grid cell. It is generated using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4.

Use Cases

• Initialize atmospheric chemistry models based on constant surface type fractions.
• Define land-water-ice masks for regional climate simulations based on grid cell composition.
• Parameterize boundary conditions in global atmospheric reanalysis workflows.

Strengths

• Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), an authoritative source.
• Part of the latest version (MERRA-2) of a major global atmospheric reanalysis.
• Parameters are designed for direct usage by chemistry transport models.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal or spatial bias inherent to the underlying model and assimilation system.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Generated by the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 as part of the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:31:28.168189; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global