Global Land Surface Constants for Soil Modeling

MERRA-2 const_2d_lnd_Nx provides global, two-dimensional constant land surface parameters. The dataset includes features like soil layer thickness, soil porosity, and soil wilting point, produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office using the GEOS version 5.12.4 model. This specific collection was last updated in December 2020.

Use Cases

• Initialize soil moisture models using the predefined soil layer thickness and porosity constants.
• Parameterize land surface schemes in climate models with the provided soil wilting point data.
• Conduct global sensitivity analyses on hydrological models by varying the constant soil property inputs.

Strengths

• Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), an authoritative source for atmospheric reanalysis.
• Provides globally consistent 2D parameters at a 0.625 x 0.5 degree spatial resolution.

Limitations

• Data recency is limited, with the last update recorded in December 2020.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed validation metrics for the constants are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) via the GES DISC.

Collection Method

Generated as part of the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2020-12-31.

Geography

Global coverage.