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Biospheric Sciences
Operational

Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2)

The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) provides data beginning in 1980 and runs a few weeks behind real time. Alongside the meteorological data assimilation using a modern satellite database, MERRA-2 includes an interactive analysis of aerosols that feed back into the circulation, uses NASA's observations of stratospheric ozone and temperature (when available), and takes steps towards representing cryogenic processes.

Launch Date
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Class
Computer Models
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The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) provides data beginning in 1980 and runs a few weeks behind real time. Alongside the meteorological data assimilation using a modern satellite database, MERRA-2 includes an interactive analysis of aerosols that feed back into the circulation, uses NASA's observations of stratospheric ozone and temperature (when available), and takes steps towards representing cryogenic processes.

Related Publications

2026. "Widespread Co‐Location of Less Frequent and More Intense Daily Precipitation Over Land.", Geophysical Research Letters, 53 (6): e2025GL120745 [10.1029/2025gl120745] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Seasonality biases arise from the interplay of retrieval quality and solar zenith angle effects in passive sensor AOD products.", Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 25 (21): 14333-14351 [10.5194/acp-25-14333-2025] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "An Observation‐Driven Framework for Modeling Post‐Fire Hydrologic Response: Evaluation for Two Central California Case Studies.", Water Resources Research, 61 (2): [10.1029/2023wr036582] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Regimes of Cloud Vertical Structure From Active Observations.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 130 (1): [10.1029/2024jd041716] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Predicting Antarctic Net Snow Accumulation at the Kilometer Scale and Its Impact on Observed Height Changes.", Geophysical Research Letters, 49 (20): [10.1029/2022gl099330] [Journal Article/Letter]