Skip to main content

Description

M2TMNXAER (or tavgM_2d_aer_Nx) is a time-averaged 2-dimensional monthly mean 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 collection also includes variance of certain parameters.

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
C1276812866-GES_DISC
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
556
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Aerosols ,
Aerosol Extinction ,
Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness ,
Angstrom Exponent ,
Aerosol Particle Properties ,
Carbonaceous Aerosols ,
Dust/Ash/Smoke ,
Organic Particles ,
Sulfate Particles ,
Sulfur Oxides ,
Sulfur Compounds ,
Sulfate ,
Sulfur Dioxide ,
Sulfur Oxides ,
Particulate Matter ,
Dimethyl Sulfide ,
Black Carbon ,
Sea Salt ,
PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5) ,
PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10) ,
PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0)

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 tavgM_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,Monthly mean,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics V5.12.4 [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/FH9A0MLJPC7N Date Accessed: 2026-05-29

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Black carbon aerosol in India: A comprehensive review of current status and future prospects Rana, Archita, Jia, Shiguo, Sarkar, Sayantan Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0)
Source identification of episodic rain pollutants by new approach: combining satellite observations and backward air mass trajectories Anil, Ismail, Alagha, Omar, Blaisi, Nawaf I., Mohamed, Iehab Abdelilah, Barghouthi, Mohammad Hisham, Manzar, Mohammad Saood Nitrogen Dioxide, Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0)
Crop Residue Burning in Northern India: Increasing Threat to Greater Sarkar, S., Singh, R. P., Chauhan, A. Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0), Tropopause, Surface Pressure, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Total Precipitable Water, Water Vapor, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Sea Surface Temperature, Skin Temperature, Carbon Monoxide, Geopotential Height, Humidity, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Methane, Atmospheric Ozone, Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness
Differentiating between local and remote pollution over Taiwan Kishcha, Pavel, Wang, Sheng-Hsiang, Lin, Neng-Huei, da Silva, Arlindo, Lin, Tang-Huang, Lin, Po-Hsiung, Liu, Gin-Rong, Starobinets, Boris, Alpert, Pinhas Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0), 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
Chemical composition and sources of marine aerosol over the Western North Pacific Ocean in winter Xiao, Hong-Wei, Xiao, Hua-Yun, Shen, Chun-Yan, Zhang, Zhong-Yi, Long, Ai-Min Nitrogen Dioxide, Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0)
Satellite and ground atmospheric particulate matter detection over Tucuman city, Argentina, space-time distribution, climatic and seasonal variability E. Garcia, Maria, S. Della Ceca, Lara, I. Micheletti, Maria, D. Piacentini, Ruben, Ordano, Mariano, J. F. Reyes, Nora, Buedo, Sebastian, A. Gonzalez, Juan Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0)
An Assessment of Atmospheric and Meteorological Factors Regulating Red Li, Wenzhao, El-Askary, Hesham, Qurban, Mohamed, Proestakis, Emmanouil, Garay, Michael, Kalashnikova, Olga, Amiridis, Vassilis, Gkikas, Antonis, Marinou, Eleni, Piechota, Thomas, Manikandan, K. Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0), Emissions, UV Aerosol Index, Gas/Aerosol Composition, Deposition, Turbidity, Air Quality, Particulates
The modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) Gelaro, Ronald, McCarty, Will, Suarez, Max J., Todling, Ricardo, Molod, Andrea, Takacs, Lawrence, Randles, Cynthia A., Darmenov, Anton, Bosilovich, Michael G., Reichle, Rolf, Wargan, Krzysztof, Coy, Lawrence, Cullather, Richard, Draper, Clara, Akella, Santha, Buchard, Virginie, Conaty, Austin, da Silva, Arlindo M., Gu, Wei, Kim, Gi-Kong, Koster, Randal, Lucchesi, Robert, Merkova, Dagmar, Nielsen, Jon Eric, Partyka, Gary, Pawson, Steven, Putman, William, Rienecker, Michele, Schubert, Siegfried D., Sienkiewicz, Meta, Zhao, Bin Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0), Albedo, Snow Depth, Snow Depth, Glacier Runoff, Glacier Runoff, Snow Cover, 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, 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 Ozone, 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, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Temperature Tendency, Skin Temperature, Water Vapor Processes, Soil Heat Budget, Soil Heat Budget, Soil Temperature, Soil Temperature, Soil Infiltration, Soil Infiltration, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Surface Soil Moisture, Root Zone Soil Moisture, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Surface Water, Runoff Rate, Average Flow, Average Flow, Snow Depth, Snow Melt, Snow/Ice Temperature, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Potential Temperature, Potential Temperature, Air Mass/Density, Potential Vorticity, Vertical Profiles, Relative Humidity, Ozone Profiles
Air quality and manufacturing firm productivity: comprehensive evidence from China Fu, Shihe, Zhang, Peng 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, Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0)
You're viewing 234 of 234