articleJournal of ClimateApr 12, 2017GREEN OA

The MERRA-2 Aerosol Reanalysis, 1980 Onward. Part I: System Description and Data Assimilation Evaluation

CACynthia A. RandlesADArlindo da SilvaVBVirginie BuchardPRPeter R. ColarcoADAnton Darmenov

Goddard Space Flight Center · Universities Space Research Association · +6 more institutions

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Abstract

The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) updates NASA's previous satellite era (1980 - onward) reanalysis system to include additional observations and improvements to the Goddard Earth Observing System, Version 5 (GEOS-5) Earth system model. As a major step towards a full Integrated Earth Systems Analysis (IESA), in addition to meteorological observations, MERRA-2 now includes assimilation of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from various ground- and space-based remote sensing platforms. Here, in the first of a pair of studies, we document the MERRA-2 aerosol assimilation, including a description of the prognostic model (GEOS-5 coupled to the GOCART aerosol module),…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Aerosol
  • Data assimilation
  • Environmental science
  • Meteorology
  • Shortwave
  • Climatology
  • Satellite
  • Radiative transfer
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Climate action
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