Global Atmospheric Reanalysis with 3-Hourly Instantaneous Meteorological Fields

MERRA-2 is a global atmospheric reanalysis dataset providing assimilated meteorological parameters across 72 model layers. The collection contains 3-dimensional, 3-hourly instantaneous data for fields like temperature, wind components, and water vapor from 1980 to the present. NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office produced it using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model version 5.12.4.

Use Cases

• Analyze vertical pressure velocity and wind component trends across the 72 model layers for atmospheric dynamics studies.
• Model temperature and water vapor profiles to study climate change impacts on global humidity and heat distribution.
• Validate other climate or weather models using the assimilated meteorological fields from this reanalysis.
• Investigate layer height data to understand atmospheric structure and boundary layer processes over time.

Strengths

• Covers a continuous time period from 1980 to present, providing over 40 years of data.
• Provides data at 72 vertical model layers, offering high vertical resolution for atmospheric profiles.
• Data is available at a 3-hourly temporal resolution (00:00, 03:00, ..., 21:00 UTC).
• Spatial resolution is 0.625 degrees longitude by 0.5 degrees latitude for global coverage.

Limitations

• Data has a latency of approximately 3 weeks after the end of each month, limiting real-time analysis.
• The dataset undergoes reprocessing, creating filename inconsistencies between original and reprocessed files.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and total data volume are not provided in the source description.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Produced using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 for atmospheric reanalysis.

Time Range

1980 to present.

Freshness

Updated monthly with a ~3-week latency.

Geography

Global.