Atmosphere

Atmospheric variables include temperature, precipitation, wind, pressure, clouds, greenhouse gases, and much more. Overview pages summarize and compare selected datasets of a given variable.

To find a specific dataset or variable, jump to the search box below or click your desired variable from among the blue sub-category buttons. Note that the classification of datasets by variable is approximate, especially for large, multi-variable datasets like reanalyses.

To see only the datasets accompanied by in-depth commentary, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.

Climate datasets

Has expert guidance
Marshall Southern Annular Mode (SAM) Index (Station-based) Marshall Southern Annular Mode (SAM) Index (Station-based)

  • Years of record

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The station-based index of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is based on the zonal pressure difference between the latitudes of 40S and 65S.  As such, the SAM…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Sea Level Pressure
JRA-55 JRA-55

  • Years of record

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Spanning 1958-present, JRA-55 is the longest third-generation reanalysis that uses the full observing system (in contrast, products like ERA-20C and NOAA 20CR…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water

    • Timestep

    • Sub-daily, Monthly

    • Collections

    • N/A
NASA's MERRA2 reanalysis NASA's MERRA2 reanalysis

  • Years of record

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The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) is a global atmospheric reanalysis produced by the NASA Global Modeling…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Aerosols Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water

    • Timestep

    • Sub-daily, Daily, Monthly

    • Collections

    • N/A
AIRS (Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder): Version 6 Level 2 AIRS (Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder): Version 6 Level 2

  • Years of record

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AIRS Version 6 Level 2 data represent a significant improvement over AIRS Version 5 Level 2 products in terms of greater stability, yield, and quality. Several…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Aerosols Air Temperature CO Geopotential Height Ozone: Tropospheric Precipitable water Specific Humidity

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
NOAA 20th-Century Reanalysis, Version 2 and 2c NOAA 20th-Century Reanalysis, Version 2 and 2c

  • Years of record

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The Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) provides a comprehensive global atmospheric circulation data set spanning 1850-2014. Its chief motivation is to provide…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR)

  • Years of record

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The CFSR is a third generation reanalysis product. It is a global, high resolution, coupled atmosphere-ocean-land surface-sea ice system designed to provide the…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
NASA MERRA NASA MERRA

  • Years of record

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The Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) was undertaken by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office with two primary…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water Water Vapor

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
ERA-Interim ERA-Interim

  • Years of record

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Using a much improved atmospheric model and assimilation system from those used in ERA-40, ERA-Interim represents a third generation reanalysis. Several of the…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water Precipitation
NCEP NARR NCEP NARR

  • Years of record

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A high resolution (32km x 29 pressure levels) data set focused upon the North American Region. Relative to the NCEP-DOE (R2) it has a much improved land-…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height Precipitable water Land

    • Timestep

    • Climatology, Sub-daily, Monthly

    • Collections

    • N/A

  • Experts contributing reviews

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NCEP-NCAR (R1): An Overview NCEP-NCAR (R1): An Overview

  • Years of record

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NCEP-NCAR (R1) is the original reanalysis effort. It uses a frozen global state-of-the-art global data assimilation system (as of 11 January 1995). The original…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Geopotential Height

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
Overview: Climate Indices Overview: Climate Indices

  • Years of record

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A climate index is a simple diagnostic quantity that is used to characterize an aspect of a geophysical system such as a circulation pattern. A variety of…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

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