MERRA-2 M2I1NXLFO: Hourly Land Surface Forcing Data

M2I1NXLFO is an instantaneous 2-dimensional hourly data collection from NASA's MERRA-2 global atmospheric reanalysis. It contains land surface forcing parameters like height, specific humidity, wind, and air temperature of the model surface layer, with timestamps on each hour from 00:00 UTC. The dataset is produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) using the GEOS model and covers the period from 1980 to the present.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface hydrology based on hourly specific humidity and air temperature data
• Analyzing wind patterns over land surfaces based on wind parameters
• Studying atmospheric boundary layer dynamics based on surface layer height and temperature
• Validating climate models using historical, assimilated forcing data from 1980-present

Strengths

• Data covers a long temporal range from 1980 to the present
• Provides hourly instantaneous data points for high temporal resolution
• Produced by NASA GMAO using the GEOS 5.12.4 model, indicating authoritative source

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO)

Collection Method

Assimilated reanalysis produced using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4.

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:31:08.301631; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global, with a spatial resolution of 0.625 x 0.5 degree