MERRA-2 M2T3NPUDT: 3-Hourly Wind Tendency Reanalysis

NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office produced this global atmospheric reanalysis covering 1980 to the present. It provides 3-hourly assimilations of wind tendencies on 42 pressure levels, such as total eastward wind analysis tendency and tendencies due to dynamics and turbulence. The data is generated using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model version 5.12.4.

Use Cases

• Modeling atmospheric wind dynamics based on assimilated wind tendencies.
• Analyzing the contribution of turbulence to wind patterns based on the tendency due to turbulence variable.
• Studying global wind variability over time based on the 3-hourly time-averaged data.
• Validating weather and climate models based on the NASA reanalysis data.

Strengths

• Data covers a long temporal range from 1980 to the present.
• Provides data on 42 distinct pressure levels.
• Assimilates multiple wind tendency variables, including total analysis tendency and tendencies due to dynamics and turbulence.
• Data is produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, an authoritative source.

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 3 weeks after the end of a month.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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 00:52:06.375718; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global