MERRA-2: Monthly Atmospheric Assimilation Diagnostics, 1980-Present

MERRA-2 is a global atmospheric reanalysis produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office using the GEOS model version 5.12.4. The dataset covers the period from 1980 to the present, with a latency of approximately three weeks after the end of each month. This specific collection provides monthly mean assimilated single-level diagnostics, including parameters like 2-meter temperature, surface pressure, and total precipitable water.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface climate conditions based on assimilated 2-meter temperature and surface pressure
• Analyzing atmospheric moisture content based on total precipitable water data
• Studying near-surface wind patterns based on wind components at 2-meter, 10-meter, and 50-meter levels
• Investigating parameter variability based on included variance data

Strengths

• Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, an authoritative source
• Covers a long temporal range from 1980 to the present
• Includes assimilated meteorological diagnostics at multiple vertical levels near the surface

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Updated monthly with a latency of ~3 weeks; last metadata update recorded on 2026-03-13.

Geography

Global