MERRA-2 Monthly Diurnal Radiation Diagnostics on 42 Pressure Levels

Global atmospheric reanalysis data provides monthly diurnal means of radiation diagnostics on 42 pressure levels, such as cloud fraction for radiation and air temperature tendencies. NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office produced this collection using the GEOS model version 5.12.4. The dataset covers the period from 1980 to the present.

Use Cases

• Analyze cloud fraction for radiation across 42 pressure levels to study cloud feedback mechanisms.
• Model air temperature tendency due to longwave radiation using the 3-hourly diurnal means.
• Investigate the diurnal cycle of shortwave radiation effects on atmospheric heating rates.
• Assimilate pressure-level radiation diagnostics for validating or improving climate model parameterizations.

Strengths

• Covers a global 0.625 x 0.5 degree spatial grid.
• Provides data from 1980 to present, offering over 40 years of continuous records.
• Contains assimilated diagnostics on 42 distinct pressure levels.

Limitations

• Data has a latency of approximately 3 weeks after the end of each month.
• Specific row counts and file sizes are not provided in the description.
• Reprocessed data filenames differ from originals, requiring careful version tracking.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Generated using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4 for atmospheric reanalysis.

Time Range

1980 to present.

Freshness

Updated monthly with a ~3-week latency.

Geography

Global coverage.