Skip to main content

Description

NASA Global Land Data Assimilation System Version 2 (GLDAS-2) has three components: GLDAS-2.0, GLDAS-2.1, and GLDAS-2.2. GLDAS-2.0 is forced entirely with the Princeton meteorological forcing input data and provides a temporally consistent series from 1948 through 2014. GLDAS-2.1 is forced with a combination of model and observation data from 2000 to present. GLDAS-2.2 product suites use data assimilation (DA), whereas the GLDAS-2.0 and GLDAS-2.1 products are "open-loop" (i.e., no data assimilation). The choice of forcing data, as well as DA observation source, variable, and scheme, vary for different GLDAS-2.2 products.

GLDAS-2.2 is new to the GES DISC archive and currently includes a main product from CLSM-F2.5 with Data Assimilation for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE-DA) from February 2003 to present. The GLDAS-2.2 data are available in two production streams: one with GRACE data assimilation outputs (the main production stream), and one without GRACE-DA (the early production stream). Since the GRACE data have a 2-6 month latency, the GLDAS-2.2 data are first created without GRACE-DA, and are designated as the Early Product (EP), with about 1 month latency. Once the GRACE data become available, the GLDAS-2.2 data are processed with GRACE-DA in the main production stream and are removed from the Early Product archive.

The GLDAS-2.2 GRACE-DA product was simulated with Catchment-F2.5 in Land Information System (LIS) Version 7. The data product contains 24 land surface fields from February 1, 2003 to present.

The simulation started on February 1, 2003 using the conditions from the GLDAS-2.0 Daily Catchment model simulation, forced with the meteorological analysis fields from the operational European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System. The total terrestrial water anomaly observation from GRACE satellite was assimilated (Li et al, 2019). Due to the data agreement with ECMWF, this GLDAS-2.2 daily product does not include the meteorological forcing fields.

The GLDAS-2.2 data are archived and distributed in NetCDF format.

Version Description

NASA GLDAS-2 has three components: GLDAS-2.0, GLDAS-2.1, and GLDAS-2.2. GLDAS-2.0 is forced entirely with the Princeton meteorological forcing input data and provides a temporally consistent time series from 1948 through 2014. GLDAS-2.1 is forced with a combination of model and observation data from 2000 to present. GLDAS-2.2 product suites use data assimilation (DA), whereas the GLDAS-2.0 and GLDAS-2.1 products are “open-loop” (i.e., no data assimilation). Choice of forcing data, as well as DA observation source, variable, and scheme vary for different GLDAS-2.2 products. Currently, the GLDAS-2.2 products include Data Assimilation (DA) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). The GLDAS-2.2 GRACE-DA products are available in two production streams: one with GRACE-DA (the main production stream), and one without GRACE-DA (the early production stream). Since the GRACE data data have a 2-6 month latency, the GLDAS-2.2 data are first created without GRACE-DA, and are designated as Early Product (EP), with about 1 month latency. Once the GRACE data become available, the GLDAS-2.2 data are processed with GRACE-DA in the main production stream and are removed from the Early Product archive. This data product is the main product for GLDAS-2.2 Catchment Land Surface Model daily 0.25 x 0.25 degree with GRACE-DA.

Product Summary

Platforms
Catchment-LSM
Instruments
NOT APPLICABLE
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -60 E: 180 W: -180

Location
GLOBAL LAND
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2003-02-01 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
C1700900796-GES_DISC
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
8401
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Surface Pressure ,
Heat Flux ,
Longwave Radiation ,
Shortwave Radiation ,
Surface Temperature ,
Humidity ,
Evapotranspiration ,
Surface Winds ,
Rain ,
Precipitation Rate ,
Snow ,
Soil Moisture/Water Content ,
Soil Temperature ,
Land Surface Temperature ,
Snow Water Equivalent ,
Runoff ,
Ground Water

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

Li, B., Beaudoing, H., Rodell, M., & NASA/GSFC/HSL. (2020). GLDAS Catchment Land Surface Model L4 daily 0.25 x 0.25 degree GRACE-DA1, Version 2.2 [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/TXBMLX370XX8 Date Accessed: 2026-04-02

Documents

READ-ME

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
ACond_tavg ACond_tavg m s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
AvgSurfT_tavg AvgSurfT_tavg K float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
CanopInt_tavg CanopInt_tavg kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
ECanop_tavg ECanop_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
ESoil_tavg ESoil_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
EvapSnow_tavg EvapSnow_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Evap_tavg Evap_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
GWS_tavg GWS_tavg mm float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
lat lat degrees_north float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
lon lon degrees_east float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Lwnet_tavg Lwnet_tavg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Qg_tavg Qg_tavg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Qh_tavg Qh_tavg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Qle_tavg Qle_tavg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Qsb_tavg Qsb_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Qsm_tavg Qsm_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Qs_tavg Qs_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
SnowDepth_tavg SnowDepth_tavg m float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
SnowT_tavg SnowT_tavg K float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
SoilMoist_P_tavg SoilMoist_P_tavg kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
SoilMoist_RZ_tavg SoilMoist_RZ_tavg kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
SoilMoist_S_tavg SoilMoist_S_tavg kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
SWE_tavg SWE_tavg kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
Swnet_tavg Swnet_tavg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
time time days since 2003-02-01 00:00:00 float64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
time_bnds time_bnds N/A float64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
TVeg_tavg TVeg_tavg kg m-2 s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
TWS_tavg TWS_tavg mm float32 -9999 N/A 1 0
You're viewing 28 of 28