USGS EROS Archive - Landsat - Atmospheric Auxiliary Data - MERRA-2 C2

Back to Products Overview

Dataset Citation

Please cite this dataset in the following manner: 

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2021). MERRA-2, Collection 2 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HI8JTZ

These data are available for users wanting to generate custom Level-2 products using the Collection 2 surface reflectance and surface temperature algorithms. It is not necessary for users to download the atmospheric auxiliary data for use with Collection 2 Level-2 products. 

The USGS uses either MERRA-2 or GEOS-5 FP-IT data for Surface Temperature processing.MERRA-2 data are used in the ST algorithm for Landsat 4-7 data for global products when GEOS-5 FP-IT data is not available (prior to 2000).

The USGS creates NetCDF files that contain the subset of the MERRA-2 datasets used in ST processing. Each daily global file contains "H" height, "QV" specific humidity, and "T" air temperature values on a grid of 576 longitude, 361 latitude, and 42 pressure levels, for 8 times within the day (every 3 hours). The axis values are recorded in the "lat", "lon", "lev", and "time" datasets, respectively. The new files are in the same format and spatio-temporal resolution as the original MERRA-2 or GEOS-5 FP-IT files

Additional Information

• Landsat Collection 2 Atmospheric Auxiliary Home Page
• Landsat Atmospheric Auxiliary Data - Data Format Control Book (DFCB) 

Access Data

Use EarthExplorer to search and download the MERRA-2 C2 Subset Product. The data are located under the Landsat category, Atmospheric Auxiliary Data, and listed as MERRA-2 C2 Subset.

Data Citation History

The preferred citation for this dataset was revised in 2024 to improve accuracy and alignment with USGS Fundamental Science Practices. The dataset digital object identifier (DOI) and version did not change. 

Please cite this dataset in the following manner: 

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2021). MERRA-2, Collection 2 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HI8JTZ

The previously used citation shown below is provided here for historical reference only:
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation And Science (EROS) Center. (2021). MERRA-2 C2 Subset [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HI8JTZ