MERRA-2 M2T3NPRAD: 3-Hourly Atmospheric Radiation Diagnostics

1980-present global atmospheric reanalysis produced by NASA GMAO using the GEOS model. The dataset provides 3-hourly time-averaged assimilations of radiation diagnostics on 42 pressure levels, such as cloud fraction for radiation and temperature tendencies. Data is available every three hours starting from 01:30 UTC with a latency of about three weeks after the end of a month.

Use Cases

• Modeling atmospheric radiative forcing based on assimilated longwave and shortwave radiation diagnostics
• Analyzing cloud fraction trends for radiation based on the specified cloud fraction variable
• Studying temperature tendencies in the atmosphere based on air temperature tendency due to longwave/shortwave data

Strengths

• Data covers the period from 1980 to the present, providing a long-term record
• Provides assimilated data on 42 distinct pressure levels
• Time-averaged data is available at a 3-hourly frequency

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last updated 2026-03-13 00:29:23.025496; freshness should be verified

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Data has a latency of ~3 weeks after the end of a month.

Geography

Global