MERRA-2 Hourly Land Surface Forcing Data from 1980 to Present

1980 to present global atmospheric reanalysis data providing instantaneous, 2-dimensional monthly diurnal means of land surface forcing parameters. The collection includes hourly means for parameters like height, specific humidity, wind, and air temperature at the model surface layer. Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office using the GEOS model version 5.12.4.

Use Cases

• Analyze diurnal cycles of surface layer specific humidity and air temperature across different land cover types.
• Validate regional climate model outputs against reanalysis data for wind speed and direction at the surface.
• Study long-term trends in land surface forcing parameters like height and temperature from 1980 onward.
• Correlate hourly surface forcing data with satellite-derived soil moisture or vegetation indices.

Strengths

• Data covers over 40 years from 1980 to present, enabling long-term climate studies.
• Provides hourly temporal resolution (00:00 to 23:00 UTC) for detailed diurnal cycle analysis.
• Produced by NASA's GMAO using the validated GEOS model and data assimilation system.

Limitations

• Spatial resolution is 0.625 x 0.5 degrees, which may be coarse for local-scale studies.
• Latency of approximately 3 weeks after the end of a month may not suit near-real-time applications.
• Reprocessing events create filename inconsistencies that require careful version tracking.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).

Collection Method

Generated via the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 atmospheric data assimilation system.

Time Range

1980 to present.

Freshness

Updated monthly with a latency of ~3 weeks.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.