This dataset contains information from The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), which provides global modeling data beginning in 1980. MERRA-2 builds upon the original MERRA project's two primary goals: to place NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite observations in a climate context and to improve the representation of the atmospheric branch of the hydrological cycle compared with previous analyses. It was generated with version 5.2.0 of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) atmospheric model and data assimilation system (DAS).

MERRA-2 is the first long-term global reanalysis to assimilate space-based observations of aerosols and represent their interactions with other physical processes in the climate system. It assimilates information from modern hyperspectral radiance and microwave observations, GPS-Radio Occultation datasets, and NASA's ozone profile observations, which began in late 2004. Spatial resolution is similar (about 50 km in the latitudinal direction) to the original MERRA dataset.