MERRA-2 Cloud Diagnostics on Pressure Levels

MERRA-2 tavg3_3d_cld_Np provides 3-hourly time-averaged assimilations of cloud diagnostics across 42 pressure levels. NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) produced this reanalysis 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.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal trends in cloud fraction for radiation across 42 pressure levels from 1980 onward.
• Modeling relationships between updraft areal fraction and in-cloud liquid/ice water mass fractions.
• Validating climate model outputs against assimilated cloud diagnostics data at 3-hourly intervals.
• Studying the vertical distribution of cloud properties via pressure-level data spanning decades.

Strengths

• Covers a multi-decade period from 1980 to present, enabling long-term climate studies.
• Provides data on 42 distinct pressure levels for detailed vertical atmospheric analysis.
• Offers 3-hourly temporal resolution for examining diurnal cloud cycles.
• Produced by NASA GMAO using the authoritative GEOS 5.12.4 model.

Limitations

• Data has a latency of about three weeks, limiting real-time analysis applications.
• Specific spatial resolution details for the 0.625 x 0.5 degree grid are not provided in the description.
• Reprocessing events create filename inconsistencies that require user attention.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) via GES DISC.

Collection Method

Assimilation of observational data using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4.

Time Range

1980 - Present

Freshness

Updated monthly with a ~3-week latency.

Geography

Global