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Full catalog/M2C0NXLND
M2C0NXLND·v5.12.4·dataset

Fixed land-surface map for a weather model (MERRA-2)

MERRA-2 const_2d_lnd_Nx: 2d, constants Land Surface Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2C0NXLND) at GES DISC
land NASA GES_DISC Level 4
In plain English

What it measures. Unchanging land-surface properties used by a weather and climate model — things like how thick each soil layer is, how porous the soil is, and the point at which plants can no longer pull water from it. These values don't change over time.

How it's made. It's a fixed reference layer from MERRA-2, NASA's atmospheric reanalysis built with the GEOS model, provided on a global grid.

How & where you'd use it. A supporting input for running and interpreting the MERRA-2 model; it's for researchers working with the model rather than a standalone product for general use.

What's measured

AGRICULTURE › SOILS

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1980-01-01 → 2020-12-31
  • Measured byMERRA-2 (NOT APPLICABLE)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

M2C0NXLND (or const_2d_lnd_Nx) is a data collection in Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2). This collection consists of 2-dimensional constant land surface parameters, such as thickness of the predefined soil layers, soil porosity, and soil wilting point. MERRA-2 is the latest version of global atmospheric reanalysis for the satellite era produced by NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) using the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) version 5.12.4. MERRA-2 Mailing List: Sign up to receive information on reprocessing of data, changing of tools and services, as well as data announcements from GMAO. Contact the GES DISC Help Desk (gsfc-dl-help-disc@mail.nasa.gov) to be added to the list. Questions: If you have a question, please read "MERRA-2 File Specification Document", “MERRA-2 Data Access – Quick Start Guide”, and FAQs linked from the ”Documentation” tab on this page. If that does not answer your question, you may post your question to the NASA Earthdata Forum (forum.earthdata.nasa.gov) or email the GES DISC Help Desk (gsfc-dl-help-disc@mail.nasa.gov).

Get the data

m2c0nxlnd_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="M2C0NXLND",
    version="5.12.4",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.