Global Atmospheric Turbulence Diagnostics at 42 Pressure Levels

MERRA-2 provides 3-hourly assimilated turbulence diagnostics, including total scalar diffusivity and Richardson number, across 42 atmospheric pressure levels. NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office produces this reanalysis using the GEOS model, covering the period from 1980 to the present with a latency of approximately three weeks.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical profile of total momentum diffusivity to study atmospheric boundary layer dynamics.
• Correlating the Richardson number from Louis with wind shear data to assess atmospheric stability conditions.
• Validating climate model turbulence schemes using the assimilated total scalar diffusivity field.
• Investigating long-term trends in turbulence diagnostics across 42 pressure levels from 1980 onward.

Strengths

• Data spans from 1980 to present, providing over 40 years of continuous global coverage.
• Provides assimilated diagnostics on 42 distinct pressure levels for detailed vertical analysis.
• 3-hourly temporal resolution captures diurnal cycles in turbulence phenomena.

Limitations

• Specific row counts and file sizes are not provided in the description.
• Data has a latency of about three weeks, limiting use for real-time analysis.
• Reprocessing events can lead to filename inconsistencies, requiring user diligence.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).

Collection Method

Produced via the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 atmospheric reanalysis and assimilation.

Time Range

1980 to present.

Freshness

Updated with a latency of ~3 weeks after the end of each month.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.