MERRA-2 Monthly Diurnal Atmospheric Diagnostics at Standard Levels

MERRA-2 provides global atmospheric reanalysis data from 1980 to present, updated with a latency of about three weeks. This collection contains monthly diurnal means of meteorology diagnostics, such as air temperature at 2 meters and wind components at 50 meters, produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). Data is time-averaged and stamped at hourly intervals starting from 00:30 UTC.

Use Cases

• Analyze diurnal cycles of air_temperature_at_2m across different geographic regions.
• Model long-term trends in sea_level_pressure and surface_pressure for climate studies.
• Assimilate wind_components_at_50m data into numerical weather prediction models.
• Study the distribution and variability of total_precipitable_water_vapor in the atmospheric column.
• Validate reanalysis outputs against observations using data at standard pressure levels like 850 hPa and 500 hPa.

Strengths

• Temporal coverage spans from 1980 to the present, providing over 40 years of continuous data.
• Data is produced by NASA GMAO using the GEOS model, a leading atmospheric reanalysis system.
• Provides hourly-resolution monthly means, capturing diurnal cycles for analysis.

Limitations

• Data has a latency of approximately three weeks, limiting real-time application.
• Spatial resolution is 0.625 x 0.5 degrees, which may be coarse for localized studies.
• Reprocessing events can alter data filenames and contents, requiring careful version tracking.

Provenance

Source

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) via the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

Generated by the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 atmospheric reanalysis, assimilating satellite and observational data.

Time Range

1980 to present.

Freshness

Updated monthly with a ~3-week latency.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.625 x 0.5 degree resolution.