Hourly Global Aerosol Diagnostics from NASA MERRA-2 Reanalysis

1980 to present hourly time-averaged assimilated aerosol diagnostics from NASA's MERRA-2 global atmospheric reanalysis. The dataset includes fields such as dry and wet deposition of aerosol components, dust emission and sedimentation, and organic carbon convective scavenging. It is produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office using the GEOS version 5.12.4 model.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal trends in dust emission and sedimentation for specific size bins over multi-decadal periods.
• Modeling the spatial distribution of dry and wet deposition for sulfate or black carbon aerosol components.
• Studying the relationship between organic carbon convective scavenging and regional precipitation patterns.
• Validating satellite-derived aerosol optical depth measurements with assimilated ground-based diagnostic data.
• Assessing long-term changes in aerosol loading and composition for climate model input.

Strengths

• Multi-decadal temporal coverage from 1980 to present.
• Hourly time resolution providing detailed diurnal cycle analysis.
• Global spatial coverage at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.
• Produced by NASA's authoritative Global Modeling and Assimilation Office.

Limitations

• Data latency of approximately three weeks after the end of each month.
• Potential inconsistencies due to reprocessing events, requiring filename checks.
• Spatial resolution may be insufficient for localized, fine-scale studies.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO)

Collection Method

Assimilated global atmospheric 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.

Geography

Global