MERRA-2: Global Atmospheric Reanalysis at 72 Model Layers

72 model layers provide analyzed meteorological fields including temperature, wind components, and specific humidity. NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office produced this 3-dimensional, 6-hourly data collection from 1980 to the present. The dataset is updated with a latency of approximately three weeks after the end of each month.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global temperature trends based on the 3-dimensional temperature fields
• Studying atmospheric circulation patterns based on wind component data
• Modeling humidity and water vapor transport based on specific humidity fields
• Investigating vertical atmospheric structure based on layer pressure thickness data

Strengths

• Data spans from 1980 to present, providing a long-term climate record
• Contains 72 vertical model layers, offering detailed atmospheric structure
• Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, an authoritative source
• Updated on a 6-hourly instantaneous schedule (00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00 UTC)

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Last updated 2026-03-13 00:53:01.940526; freshness should be verified

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Updated with a latency of ~3 weeks after the end of a month.

Geography

Global