Monthly Ocean Surface Diagnostics from NASA MERRA-2 Reanalysis

1980 to present monthly mean data on ocean surface diagnostics produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. This collection includes parameters like sea surface skin temperature, latent energy flux, sensible heat flux, and net downward radiative fluxes. It is part of the MERRA-2 global atmospheric reanalysis for the satellite era.

Use Cases

• Analyzing trends in open water skin temperature (sea surface temperature) over the 1980-present period.
• Modeling ocean-atmosphere energy exchange using latent energy flux and sensible heat flux variables.
• Studying radiative balance at the ocean surface with net downward longwave and shortwave flux data.
• Investigating variability in ocean surface processes using the included variance parameters for certain diagnostics.

Strengths

• Continuous temporal coverage from 1980 to present, providing over 40 years of data.
• Global spatial coverage at a 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.
• Produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office using the GEOS 5.12.4 model, an authoritative reanalysis source.

Limitations

• Data has a latency of approximately 3 weeks after the end of each month, not suitable for real-time monitoring.
• Spatial resolution of 0.625 x 0.5 degrees may be too coarse for regional or coastal studies.
• Reprocessing events have occurred, requiring users to check documentation for file version differences.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Generated via the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 assimilation system.

Time Range

1980 - Present

Freshness

Updated monthly with a ~3-week latency.

Geography

Global