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Description

M2T3NPTDT (or tavg3_3d_tdt_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 air temperature tendencies on 42 pressure levels, such as total temperature analysis tendency, and tendency of air temperature due to dynamics (or friction, moisture, radiation, and physics). 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).

Version Description

The GEOS-5 model version used for processing MERRA-2

Product Summary

Platforms
MERRA-2
Instruments
NOT APPLICABLE
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1980-01-01 to Present
Data Partner
Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (formerly Goddard DAAC), Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/GESDI
Concept ID
C1276812940-GES_DISC
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
16893
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Upper Air Temperature ,
Air Temperature ,
Temperature Tendency

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Global Modeling And Assimilation Office, & Pawson, S. (2015). MERRA-2 tavg3_3d_tdt_Np: 3d,3-Hourly,Time-Averaged,Pressure-Level,Assimilation,Temperature Tendencies V5.12.4 [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/9NCR9DDDOPFI Date Accessed: 2026-05-02

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Impact of the MaddenJulian oscillation on mesospheric migrating diurnal tides observed by multiple equatorial meteor radars Wang, Jianyuan, Yi, Wen, Xue, Xianghui, Wu, Jianfei, Ye, Hailun, Chen, Tingdi, Li, Jian, Zeng, Jie, Chen, Jinsong, Ding, Zonghua, Li, Na, Vincent, Robert A., Reid, Iain M., Batista, Paulo P., Buriti, Ricardo A., Tsuda, Toshitaka, Mitchell, Nicholas J., Dou, Xiankang Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Specific Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles
Migrating diurnal tide anomalies during QBO disruptions in 2016 and 2020: morphology and mechanism Liu, Shuai, Jiang, Guoying, Luo, Bingxian, Liu, Xiao, Xu, Jiyao, Zhu, Yajun, Yi, Wen Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Pressure Thickness, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Specific Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Fraction, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles, Atmospheric Radiation, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Radiative Flux, Radiative Forcing, Surface Radiative Properties, Albedo, Emissivity, Cloud Properties, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Skin Temperature, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Skin Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Dimethyl Sulfide, Aerosol Particle Properties, Particulate Matter, Aerosols, Sea Salt, Black Carbon, Air Mass/Density
Cloud radiative effects significantly increase wintertime atmospheric blocking in the Euro-Atlantic sector Lubis, Sandro W., Harrop, Bryce E., Lu, Jian, Leung, L. Ruby, Chen, Ziming, Huang, Clare S. Y., Omrani, Nour-Eddine Geopotential Height, Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Upper Air Temperature, Vertical Profiles, Air Temperature, Specific Humidity, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Ozone Profiles, Temperature Tendency
Remote Forcing and Prediction of the June 2023 Texas Heat Wave Lim, Young-Kwon, DeAngelis, Anthony M., Thomas, Natalie P., Schubert, Siegfried D., Chang, Yehui, Collow, Allison B., Dezfuli, Amin Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Specific Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles, Surface Temperature, Skin Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, Upper Level Winds, Atmospheric Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Total Precipitable Water, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Temperature Tendency
Revisiting the Causes and Global and Historical Context of the US Midwest Great Flood of 1993 Schubert, Siegfried D., Chang, Yehui, DeAngelis, Anthony M., Lim, Young-Kwon, Koster, Randal D., Bosilovich, Michael G., Molod, Andrea M., Dezfuli, Amin Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Geopotential Height, Altitude, Surface Temperature, Skin Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, U/V Wind Components, Upper Level Winds, U/V Wind Components, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Atmospheric Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Specific Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Atmospheric Ozone, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Ozone Profiles, Heat Flux, Water Vapor, Precipitation Rate, Snow/Ice, Evaporation, Latent Heat Flux, Latent Heat Flux, Sensible Heat Flux, Diffusion, Surface Winds, Wind Speed, Wind Stress, Wind Stress, Surface Roughness, Planetary Boundary Layer Height, Ice Fraction
Insights into the Causes and Predictability of the 2022/23 California Flooding Schubert, Siegfried D., Chang, Yehui, DeAngelis, Anthony M., Lim, Young-Kwon, Thomas, Natalie P., Koster, Randal D., Bosilovich, Michael G., Molod, Andrea M., Collow, Allison, Dezfuli, Amin Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Geopotential Height, Altitude, Surface Temperature, Skin Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, U/V Wind Components, Upper Level Winds, U/V Wind Components, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Atmospheric Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Specific Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Atmospheric Ozone, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Heat Flux, Water Vapor, Precipitation Rate, Snow/Ice, Evaporation, Latent Heat Flux, Latent Heat Flux, Sensible Heat Flux, Diffusion, Surface Winds, Wind Speed, Wind Stress, Wind Stress, Surface Roughness, Planetary Boundary Layer Height, Ice Fraction, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Ozone Profiles
Global Temperature Dependency of Biogenic HCHO Columns Observed From Li, Xicheng, Zhu, Lei, De Smedt, Isabelle, Sun, Wenfu, Chen, Yuyang, Shu, Lei, Wang, Dakang, Liu, Song, Pu, Dongchuan, Li, Juan, Zuo, Xiaoxing, Fu, Weitao, Li, Yali, Zhang, Peng, Yan, Zhuoxian, Fu, TzungMay, Shen, Huizhong, Wang, Chen, Ye, Jianhuai, Yang, Xin Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency
Precipitation Characteristics of Easterly Waves Across the Global Hollis, Margaret A., Stachnik, Justin P., LewisMerritt, Carrie, McCrary, Rachel R., Martin, Elinor R. Total Surface Precipitation Rate, Heat Flux, Air Temperature, Skin Temperature, Specific Humidity, Water Vapor, Precipitation Rate, Snow/Ice, Evaporation, Latent Heat Flux, Latent Heat Flux, Sensible Heat Flux, Diffusion, Surface Winds, Wind Speed, U/V Wind Components, Wind Stress, Wind Stress, Surface Roughness, Planetary Boundary Layer Height, Ice Fraction, Upper Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Snow, Rain
Diabatic Eddy Forcing Increases Persistence and Opposes Propagation of the Southern Annular Mode in MERRA2 Smith, Samuel, Lu, Jian, Staten, Paul W. Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Geopotential Height, Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Vertical Profiles, Specific Humidity, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Ozone Profiles
Dynamical drivers of the exceptional warmth over Siberia during the spring of 2020 DeAngelis, Anthony M., Schubert, Siegfried D., Chang, Yehui, Lim, Young-Kwon, Koster, Randal D., Wang, Hailan, Marquardt Collow, Allison B. Heat Flux, Air Temperature, Skin Temperature, Specific Humidity, Water Vapor, Precipitation Rate, Snow/Ice, Evaporation, Latent Heat Flux, Latent Heat Flux, Sensible Heat Flux, Diffusion, Surface Winds, Wind Speed, U/V Wind Components, Wind Stress, Wind Stress, Surface Roughness, Planetary Boundary Layer Height, Ice Fraction, Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Upper Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles, Surface Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, Upper Level Winds, Atmospheric Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Total Precipitable Water, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Temperature Tendency
A Synoptic View of the Onset of the Midlatitude QBO Signal Silverman, Vered, Lubis, Sandro W., Harnik, Nili, Matthes, Katja Atmospheric Ozone, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Upper Air Temperature, Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Specific Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles, Temperature Tendency
Seasonality in Prediction Skill of the MaddenJulian Oscillation and Associated Dynamics in Version 2 of NASA's GEOSS2S Forecast System Lim, YoungKwon, Arnold, Nathan P., Molod, Andrea M., Pawson, Steven Heat Flux, Air Temperature, Skin Temperature, Specific Humidity, Water Vapor, Precipitation Rate, Snow/Ice, Evaporation, Latent Heat Flux, Latent Heat Flux, Sensible Heat Flux, Diffusion, Surface Winds, Wind Speed, U/V Wind Components, Wind Stress, Wind Stress, Surface Roughness, Planetary Boundary Layer Height, Ice Fraction, Geopotential Height, Altitude, Surface Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, Upper Level Winds, U/V Wind Components, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Atmospheric Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Total Precipitable Water, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Atmospheric Ozone, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Heat Flux, Heat Flux, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Water Vapor Tendency, Water Vapor Flux, Cloud Dynamics, Cloud Microphysics, Precipitation, Atmospheric Radiation, Temperature Tendency, Cloud Fraction, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Ozone Profiles
Multiyear Composite View of Ozone Enhancements and Jaegle, Lyatt, Wood, Robert, Wargan, Krzysztof Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide, Atmospheric Ozone, Pressure Thickness, Surface Pressure, Tropospheric Ozone, Carbon Monoxide, Air Mass/Density, Heat Flux, Air Temperature, Skin Temperature, Specific Humidity, Water Vapor, Precipitation Rate, Snow/Ice, Evaporation, Latent Heat Flux, Latent Heat Flux, Sensible Heat Flux, Diffusion, Surface Winds, Wind Speed, U/V Wind Components, Wind Stress, Wind Stress, Surface Roughness, Planetary Boundary Layer Height, Ice Fraction, Upper Air Temperature, Temperature Tendency, Sea Level Pressure, U/V Wind Components, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Altitude, Geopotential Height, Ozone Profiles, Atmospheric Radiation, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Radiative Flux, Radiative Forcing, Surface Radiative Properties, Albedo, Emissivity, Cloud Properties, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Skin Temperature, Surface Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, Upper Level Winds, Atmospheric Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Total Precipitable Water, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone
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Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
DTDTANA DTDTANA K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTDYN DTDTDYN K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTFRI DTDTFRI K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTGWD DTDTGWD K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTMST DTDTMST K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTRAD DTDTRAD K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTTOT DTDTTOT K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
DTDTTRB DTDTTRB K s-1 float32 999999986991104 N/A 1 0
lat lat degrees_north float64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
lev lev hPa float64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
lon lon degrees_east float64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
time time minutes since 2025-01-01 01:30:00 int32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
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