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Full catalog/M2T3NPMST
M2T3NPMST·v5.12.4·dataset

Modeled moisture and clouds through the air (MERRA-2, 3-hourly)

MERRA-2 tavg3_3d_mst_Np: 3d,3-Hourly,Time-Averaged,Pressure-Level,Assimilation,Moist Processes Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2T3NPMST) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 4 active
In plain English

What it measures. Modeled snapshots, every three hours, of moisture and rain-forming processes at many altitudes through the atmosphere, such as how convective rain and ice or liquid precipitation move through the air column.

How it's made. Generated by NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, which combines a weather model with satellite-era observations and reports values averaged over three-hour windows across 42 atmospheric pressure levels.

How & where you'd use it. Mostly a research input for studying how storms, rainfall, and atmospheric moisture behave, typically used by atmospheric scientists rather than the general public directly.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › PRECIPITATION RATEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › WATER VAPOR FLUX

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1980-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byMERRA-2 (NOT APPLICABLE)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

M2T3NPMST (or tavg3_3d_mst_Np) is a 3-dimensional 3-hourly time averaged data collection in Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2). This collection consists of assimilations of moist processes diagnostics on the 42 pressure levels, such as convective rainwater source, 3D flux of ice convective (or nonconvective) precipitation, and 3D flux of liquid convective (or nonconvective) precipitation. The data field is available every three hour starting from 01:30 UTC, e.g.: 01:30, 04:30, … , 22:30 UTC. The information on the pressure levels can be found in the section 4.2 of the MERRA-2 File Specification document. 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. The dataset covers the period of 1980-present with the latency of ~3 weeks after the end of a month. Data Reprocessing: Please check “Records of MERRA-2 Data Reprocessing and Service Changes” linked from the “Documentation” tab on this page. Note that a reprocessed data filename is different from the original file. 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

m2t3npmst_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="M2T3NPMST",
    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.