MERRA-2 M2T1NXLND: Hourly Land Surface Diagnostics from NASA Reanalysis

Hourly time-averaged land surface diagnostics from NASA's MERRA-2 global atmospheric reanalysis. The collection includes variables such as baseflow flux, runoff, soil wetness, and soil temperature at six layers, covering the period from 1980 to the present. NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) produces the data using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4.

Use Cases

• Modeling hydrological cycles based on hourly baseflow flux and runoff data.
• Analyzing soil moisture dynamics based on surface and root zone soil wetness variables.
• Studying land surface energy budgets based on soil temperature at six layers.
• Assessing vegetation and agricultural conditions based on soil moisture and temperature diagnostics.
• Validating satellite-derived land surface products using assimilated reanalysis data.

Strengths

• Data covers a long temporal range from 1980 to the present.
• Provides hourly time-averaged diagnostics for precise temporal analysis.
• Includes multiple layered soil variables, such as temperature at six layers.
• Produced by NASA GMAO using a documented model (GEOS 5.12.4).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data has a latency of approximately three weeks after the end of a month.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:52:30.781780; covers 1980-present with ~3 week latency.

Geography

Global, at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.