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Description

This data set contains thirty-seven fields simulated from the Mosaic land-surface model (LSM) for Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2). The data are in 1/8th degree grid spacing and range from Jan 1979 to the present. The temporal resolution is monthly. The file format is netCDF (converted from the GRIB format).

The NLDAS-2 monthly Mosaic model data, containing thirty-seven fields, were generated from the NLDAS-2 hourly Mosaic model data, as monthly accumulation for rainfall, snowfall, subsurface runoff, surface runoff, total evapotranspiration, and snow melt, and monthly average for other variables. Monthly period of each month is from 00Z at start of the month to 23:59Z at end of the month, except the first month (Jan. 1979) that starts from 00Z 02 Jan 1979.

Details about the NLDAS-2 configuration of the Mosaic LSM can be found in Xia et al. (2012).

Product Summary

Platforms
Mosaic-LSM
Instruments
NOT APPLICABLE
Spatial Extent

N: 53 S: 25 E: -67 W: -125

Geographic Region
NORTH AMERICA
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1979-01-01 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
C1887990159-GES_DISC
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
563
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Heat Flux ,
Longwave Radiation ,
Shortwave Radiation ,
Surface Temperature ,
Evaporation ,
Evapotranspiration ,
Rain ,
Snow ,
Canopy Characteristics ,
Leaf Characteristics ,
Vegetation Cover ,
Soil Moisture/Water Content ,
Soil Temperature ,
Albedo ,
Land Surface Temperature ,
Snow Water Equivalent ,
Runoff

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

NLDAS Project. (2020). NLDAS Mosaic Land Surface Model L4 Monthly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 [Data set]. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/YQ1P3OP48R8M Date Accessed: 2025-12-14

Documents

READ-ME

PROCESSING HISTORY

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
ACond ACond m s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Albedo Albedo % float32 -9999 N/A 1
AvgSurfT AvgSurfT K float32 -9999 N/A 1
CanopInt CanopInt kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
CCond CCond m s-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1
ECanop ECanop W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
ESoil ESoil W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Evap Evap kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
GVEG GVEG fraction float32 -9999 N/A 1
LAI LAI unitless float32 -9999 N/A 1
lat lat degrees_north float32 -9999 N/A 1
lon lon degrees_east float32 -9999 N/A 1
LWdown LWdown W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
LWnet LWnet W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qf Qf W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qg Qg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qh Qh W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qle Qle W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qs Qs kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qsb Qsb kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Qsm Qsm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
Rainf Rainf kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SMAvail_0_40cm SMAvail_0_40cm % float32 -9999 N/A 1
SMAvail_0_200cm SMAvail_0_200cm % float32 -9999 N/A 1
SnowDepth SnowDepth m float32 -9999 N/A 1
Snowf Snowf kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SnowFrac SnowFrac fraction float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilM_0_10cm SoilM_0_10cm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilM_0_40cm SoilM_0_40cm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilM_0_100cm SoilM_0_100cm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilM_0_200cm SoilM_0_200cm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilM_10_40cm SoilM_10_40cm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilM_40_200cm SoilM_40_200cm kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SoilT SoilT K float32 -9999 N/A 1
Streamflow Streamflow m^3 sec-1 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SubSnow SubSnow W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SWdown SWdown W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SWE SWE kg m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
SWnet SWnet W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
time time hours since 1979-01-01 00:00:00 float64 N/A N/A N/A
time_bnds time_bnds N/A float64 N/A N/A N/A
TVeg TVeg W m-2 float32 -9999 N/A 1
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