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Full catalog/M2TUNPMST
M2TUNPMST·v5.12.4·dataset

Atmospheric moisture and clouds by altitude, daily cycle (model)

MERRA-2 tavgU_3d_mst_Np: 3d,diurnal,Time-Averaged,Pressure-Level,Assimilation,Moist Processes Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TUNPMST) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 4 active
In plain English

What it measures. Describes moisture-related processes in the atmosphere by altitude, such as rain and ice and liquid precipitation flowing through the air column, shown as the typical daily cycle averaged over each month.

How it's made. Produced by NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, a model that blends decades of satellite-era observations to reconstruct the atmosphere, here output on pressure levels in three-hour steps.

How & where you'd use it. Used in climate and weather research to study how moisture, clouds and precipitation behave through the day, especially when direct observations are limited.

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

M2TUNPMST (or tavgU_3d_mst_Np) is a 3-dimensional monthly diurnal means 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 information on the pressure levels can be found in the section 4.2 of the MERRA-2 File Specification document. This data collection is the monthly mean of data fields for each 3-hour and time-stamped at the central time starting from 01:30 UTC, e.g.: 01:30, 04:30, … , 22:30 UTC. 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

m2tunpmst_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="M2TUNPMST",
    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.