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Full catalog/NLDAS_VIC0125_MC
NLDAS_VIC0125_MC·v2.0·dataset

Modeled average monthly soil and water conditions (NLDAS)

NLDAS VIC Land Surface Model L4 Monthly Climatology 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_VIC0125_MC) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 4
In plain English

What it measures. Typical month-by-month land and water conditions across North America, such as soil moisture, runoff, and other land-surface variables, averaged into a long-term seasonal picture.

How it's made. Generated by the VIC land-surface model (not a satellite), which simulates conditions on an eighth-degree grid; this version averages 40 years of data into a monthly climatology.

How & where you'd use it. Useful as a baseline for comparing any given month against normal conditions, and for studying droughts, water resources, and the seasonal cycle of the landscape.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › HEAT FLUXATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › LONGWAVE RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › SHORTWAVE RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE › SURFACE TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › EVAPORATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › EVAPOTRANSPIRATIONATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › LIQUID PRECIPITATION › RAINATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › SOLID PRECIPITATION › SNOWBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › CANOPY CHARACTERISTICSBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › LEAF CHARACTERISTICSBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION COVERLAND SURFACE › SOILS › SOIL MOISTURE/WATER CONTENTLAND SURFACE › SOILS › SOIL TEMPERATURELAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ALBEDO

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1981-01-01 → 2020-12-31
  • Measured byVIC-LSM (NOT APPLICABLE)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-125, 25, -67, 53
  • StatusCOMPLETE

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

This data set contains a series of land surface parameters simulated from the VIC land-surface model (LSM) for Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2). The data are in 1/8th degree grid spacing. The temporal resolution is monthly, ranging from January to December. The NLDAS-2 monthly climatology data are the NLDAS-2 monthly data averaged over forty years (1981 - 2020). The file format is netCDF. The previous version of this dataset (NLDAS_MC 002) was a 30-year average and was stored in GRIB file format. A brief description about the NLDAS-2 hourly and monthly VIC LSM data can be found from the NLDAS_VIC0125_H_2.0 and NLDAS_VIC0125_M_2.0 landing pages. Details about the NLDAS-2 configuration of the VIC LSM can be found in Xia et al. (2012). The version of the VIC model for the NLDAS-2 VIC data available from the NASA GES DISC is VIC-4.0.3; this version of the VIC model is the same as used in Sheffield et al. (2003). For more information, please see the README Document.

Get the data

nldas_vic0125_mc_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="NLDAS_VIC0125_MC",
    version="2.0",
    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.