MERRA-2 M2TMNPRAD: Monthly Atmospheric Radiation Diagnostics on 42 Pressure Levels

42 pressure levels of assimilated radiation diagnostics, such as cloud fraction for radiation and air temperature tendency due to longwave or shortwave radiation, are included in this 3-dimensional monthly mean data collection. MERRA-2 is a global atmospheric reanalysis produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office using the GEOS model version 5.12.4. The dataset covers the period from 1980 to the present, with a latency of approximately three weeks after the end of each month.

Use Cases

• Modeling atmospheric radiative energy budgets based on assimilated radiation diagnostics.
• Analyzing cloud fraction for radiation across 42 pressure levels.
• Studying air temperature tendencies due to longwave and shortwave radiation.
• Investigating variance of atmospheric parameters over monthly time scales.

Strengths

• Data is produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, an authoritative source.
• Covers a long temporal range from 1980 to the present.
• Provides diagnostics on 42 distinct pressure levels.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data reprocessing events require checking separate documentation records.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO)

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1980-present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:28:22.733582; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global