MERRA-2 M2T3NPODT: 3-Hourly Ozone Tendency Assimilation on Pressure Levels

42 pressure levels of assimilated ozone tendencies, including total ozone analysis tendency and tendencies due to chemistry, moist processes, and dynamics. The NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) produces this 3-hourly time-averaged data collection using the GEOS version 5.12.4 model. The dataset covers the period from 1980 to the present, with a latency of approximately 3 weeks after the end of a month.

Use Cases

• Validate atmospheric chemistry models based on assimilated ozone tendencies.
• Analyze the impact of moist processes on ozone concentration based on the tendency of odd oxygen due to moist processes.
• Study the role of atmospheric dynamics in ozone distribution based on the tendency of ozone due to dynamics.
• Monitor long-term changes in ozone tendencies for climate trend analysis based on the data covering 1980-present.

Strengths

• Data is produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO), an authoritative source.
• Covers a long temporal range from 1980 to the present.
• Provides data on 42 distinct pressure levels for vertical analysis.
• Offers 3-hourly temporal resolution starting from 01:30 UTC.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data reprocessing has occurred, and filename conventions differ from original files, which could cause confusion.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Produced using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 as part of the MERRA-2 global atmospheric reanalysis.

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Updated with a latency of ~3 weeks after the end of a month; last metadata update was 2026-03-13.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.