MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2T1NXAER)

M2T1NXAER (or tavg1_2d_aer_Nx) is an hourly time-averaged 2-dimensional data collection in Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2). This collection consists of assimilated aerosol diagnostics, such as column mass density of aerosol components (black carbon, dust, sea salt, sulfate, and organic carbon), surface mass concentration of aerosol components, and total extinction (and scattering ) aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 550 nm. The total PM1.0, PM2.5, and PM10 may be derived with the formula described in the FAQs under the Documentation tab of this page. The data field 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).

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated August 18, 2026, 03:45 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 17:16 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
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harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.5067/KLICLTZ8EM9D
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-08-10T22:16:04Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/GESDISC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 916796a349f6e343015eb74dea7e68ad92fc463892a7ec9eaf87738f1a3276b1
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -180, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90}]]
temporal 1980-01-01/2026-08-10
theme {"Earth Science"}