Earth Data School
About
Full catalog/M2TUNXADG
M2TUNXADG·v5.12.4·dataset

Modeled haze, dust and smoke, daily detail (MERRA-2)

MERRA-2 tavgU_2d_adg_Nx: 2d,diurnal,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics (extended) 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TUNXADG) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 4 active
In plain English

What it measures. Modeled details about airborne particles like dust, smoke, and organic carbon, including how they are deposited, emitted, and washed out of the air. Values are monthly averages broken out by hour of day.

How it's made. Produced by NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, which combines satellite-era observations into a consistent global atmospheric model rather than a direct satellite reading.

How & where you'd use it. A specialized input for studying how aerosols move through and leave the atmosphere; typically used by researchers within broader air-quality and climate work.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLSATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › CARBONACEOUS AEROSOLSATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › DUST/ASH/SMOKEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › SULFUR COMPOUNDS › SULFUR DIOXIDEATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › SULFUR COMPOUNDS › SULFUR OXIDESATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY › SULFUR COMPOUNDS › SULFATEATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › SULFATE PARTICLESATMOSPHERE › AIR QUALITY › SULFUR OXIDESATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › PARTICULATE MATTERATMOSPHERE › AIR QUALITY › EMISSIONSATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS › UV AEROSOL INDEXSOLID EARTH › TECTONICS › VOLCANIC ACTIVITY › ERUPTION DYNAMICS › GAS/AEROSOL COMPOSITIONATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › AEROSOL EXTINCTIONATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › DEPOSITION

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

M2TUNXADG (or tavgU_2d_adg_Nx) is a time-averaged 2-dimensional monthly diurnal means data collection in Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2). This collection consists of assimilated aerosol diagnostics (extended), such as dry and wet deposition of each aerosol component, dust emission and sedimentation for each sized bin, and organic carbon convective scavenging. This data collection is the monthly mean of data fields for each hour and is time-stamped with the central time of an hour starting from 00:30 UTC, e.g.: 00:30, 01:30, … , 23:30 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

m2tunxadg_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="M2TUNXADG",
    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.