Monthly Mean Atmospheric Temperature Tendencies at 42 Pressure Levels

1980 to present monthly mean data from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis provides assimilated air temperature tendencies. The dataset includes total temperature analysis tendency and tendencies due to dynamics, friction, moisture, radiation, and physics on 42 pressure levels. It is produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) using the GEOS 5.12.4 model.

Use Cases

• Analyze the total temperature analysis tendency across 42 pressure levels to study atmospheric heating rates.
• Investigate the tendency of air temperature due to dynamics to understand large-scale atmospheric circulation impacts.
• Model radiative forcing effects by examining the temperature tendency due to radiation at different atmospheric pressures.
• Study moisture-physics interactions by correlating temperature tendencies due to moisture with other climate variables.
• Validate global climate model outputs against the assimilated temperature tendency data for the 1980-present period.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range from 1980 to present, enabling multi-decadal climate studies.
• Provides data on 42 distinct pressure levels for detailed vertical atmospheric analysis.
• Produced by NASA GMAO using the established GEOS 5.12.4 model and assimilation system.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column details, and dataset size are unknown.
• Data has a latency of approximately 3 weeks after the end of each month, limiting real-time analysis.
• Potential for reprocessing changes, requiring users to check version history and file naming conventions.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Assimilation of observational data using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4.

Time Range

1980 to present.

Freshness

Updated monthly with a ~3 week latency.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.