Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) combines multiple
sources of observations (such as precipitation gauge data, satellite
data, and radar precipitation measurements) to produce estimates
of climatological properties at or near the Earth''s surface.
This dataset is the primary (default) forcing file (File A) for
Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2).
The data are in 1/8th-degree grid spacing; the temporal resolution
is hourly.
NLDAS is a collaboration project among several groups: NOAA/NCEP''s
Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), NASA''s Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC), Princeton University, the University of Washington,
the NOAA/NWS Office of Hydrological Development (OHD), and the
NOAA/NCEP Climate Prediction Center (CPC). NLDAS is a core project
with support from NOAA''s Climate Prediction Program for the Americas
(CPPA).
Distribution of data from the Goddard Earth Sciences
Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) is funded by NASA's
Science Mission Directorate (SMD). Consistent with NASA Earth
Science Data and Information Policy,
data from the GES DISC archive are available free to the user community.
For more information visit the GES DISC Data Policy
page.
Citations
Citations:
The data set source should be properly cited when the data are
used. A formal reference of the form: \, 2012, last updated
2013: \. NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, USA, NASA Goddard
Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).
Accessed \ at \ is suggested following
Parsons et al. (2010), doi:10.1029/2010EO340001.
Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) combines multiple sources of observations (such as precipitation gauge data, satellite data, and radar precipitation measurements) to produce estimates of climatological properties at or near the Earth''s surface. This dataset is the primary (default) forcing file (File A) for Phase 2 of the North American …
[null,null,[],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe NASA NLDAS FORA0125 H002 dataset provides hourly estimates of climatological properties like temperature, humidity, and precipitation across North America.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt combines observations from various sources, including precipitation gauges, satellite data, and radar measurements, to generate these estimates.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis dataset covers the period from January 1, 1979, to December 9, 2024, with a spatial resolution of 1/8th degree.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eNLDAS is a collaborative project involving NOAA, NASA, and several universities, and it serves as the primary forcing dataset for the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eData is freely accessible and can be used for research, education, and nonprofit purposes through platforms like Google Earth Engine.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The dataset, provided by NASA GES DISC, covers 1979-01-01 to 2025-02-18 with hourly cadence. It's the primary forcing file for NLDAS-2, offering 1/8th-degree grid spacing, and it compiles data from various sources like gauges, satellites, and radar. Key climatological properties are available, including temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, radiation, and precipitation, among others. The data is available for free use under NASA's Earth Science Data and Information Policy. Users can access and analyze the data using Google Earth Engine.\n"],null,["Dataset Availability\n: 1979-01-01T13:00:00Z--2025-08-29T12:00:00Z\n\nDataset Provider\n:\n\n\n [NASA GES DISC at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center](https://doi.org/10.5067/6J5LHHOHZHN4)\n\nCadence\n: 1 Hour\n\nTags\n:\n [climate](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/climate) [evaporation](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/evaporation) [forcing](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/forcing) [geophysical](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/geophysical) [hourly](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/hourly) [humidity](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/humidity) [ldas](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/ldas) [nasa](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/nasa) [precipitation](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/precipitation) [pressure](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/pressure) [radiation](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/radiation) [soil](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/soil) [temperature](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/temperature) [water-vapor](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/water-vapor) [wind](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/wind) \nnldas \n\nDescription \nLand Data Assimilation System (LDAS) combines multiple\nsources of observations (such as precipitation gauge data, satellite\ndata, and radar precipitation measurements) to produce estimates\nof climatological properties at or near the Earth''s surface.\n\nThis dataset is the primary (default) forcing file (File A) for\nPhase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2).\nThe data are in 1/8th-degree grid spacing; the temporal resolution\nis hourly.\n\nNLDAS is a collaboration project among several groups: NOAA/NCEP''s\nEnvironmental Modeling Center (EMC), NASA''s Goddard Space Flight\nCenter (GSFC), Princeton University, the University of Washington,\nthe NOAA/NWS Office of Hydrological Development (OHD), and the\nNOAA/NCEP Climate Prediction Center (CPC). NLDAS is a core project\nwith support from NOAA''s Climate Prediction Program for the Americas\n(CPPA).\n\nDocumentation:\n\n- [Readme](https://hydro1.gesdisc.eosdis.nasa.gov/data/NLDAS/README.NLDAS2.pdf)\n\n- [How-To](https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/information/howto?tags=hydrology)\n\n- [GES DISC Hydrology Documentation](https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/information/documents?title=Hydrology%20Documentation)\n\n- [GES DISC Data Rods Documentation](https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/information/tools?title=Hydrology%20Data%20Rods)\n\nBands\n\n\n**Pixel Size**\n\n13915 meters\n\n**Bands**\n\n| Name | Units | Min | Max | Pixel Size | Description |\n|-------------------------|---------------|-----------|-----------|------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `temperature` | °C | -49.79\\* | 51.2\\* | meters | Air temperature at 2 meters above the surface |\n| `specific_humidity` | Mass fraction | 0\\* | 0.02\\* | meters | Specific humidity at 2 meters above the surface |\n| `pressure` | Pa | 61847.6\\* | 105338\\* | meters | Surface pressure |\n| `wind_u` | m/s | -27.93\\* | 27.54\\* | meters | U wind component at 10 meters above the surface |\n| `wind_v` | m/s | -27.45\\* | 35.13\\* | meters | V wind component at 10 meters above the surface |\n| `longwave_radiation` | W/m\\^2 | 72.18\\* | 545.11\\* | meters | Surface downward longwave radiation |\n| `convective_fraction` | | 0\\* | 1\\* | meters | Fraction of total precipitation that is convective: from NARR |\n| `potential_energy` | J/kg | 0\\* | 76666.2\\* | meters | Convective available potential energy (J/kg): from NARR |\n| `potential_evaporation` | kg/m\\^2 | 0\\* | 2.76\\* | meters | Potential evaporation: from NARR |\n| `total_precipitation` | kg/m\\^2 | 0\\* | 124.19\\* | meters | Hourly total precipitation |\n| `shortwave_radiation` | W/m\\^2 | 0\\* | 1368.54\\* | meters | Surface downward shortwave radiation - bias corrected |\n\n\\* estimated min or max value\n\nImage Properties\n\n**Image Properties**\n\n| Name | Type | Description |\n|------------|--------|-------------|\n| end_hour | DOUBLE | End hour |\n| start_hour | DOUBLE | Start hour |\n\nTerms of Use\n\n**Terms of Use**\n\nDistribution of data from the Goddard Earth Sciences\nData and Information Services Center (GES DISC) is funded by NASA's\nScience Mission Directorate (SMD). Consistent with NASA [Earth\nScience Data and Information Policy](https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/engage/open-data-services-and-software/data-and-information-policy/),\ndata from the GES DISC archive are available free to the user community.\nFor more information visit the GES DISC [Data Policy](https://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/citing)\npage.\n\nCitations \nCitations:\n\n- The data set source should be properly cited when the data are\n used. A formal reference of the form: \\\\, 2012, last updated 2013: \\\\. NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, USA, NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). Accessed \\\\ at \\\\ is suggested following Parsons et al. (2010), [doi:10.1029/2010EO340001](https://doi.org/10.1029/2010EO340001).\n\nExplore with Earth Engine **Important:** Earth Engine is a platform for petabyte-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets, both for public benefit and for business and government users. Earth Engine is free to use for research, education, and nonprofit use. To get started, please [register for Earth Engine access.](https://console.cloud.google.com/earth-engine)\n\nCode Editor (JavaScript) \n\n```javascript\nvar dataset = ee.ImageCollection('NASA/NLDAS/FORA0125_H002')\n .filter(ee.Filter.date('2018-07-01', '2018-07-30'));\nvar temperature = dataset.select('temperature');\nvar temperatureVis = {\n min: -5.0,\n max: 40.0,\n palette: ['3d2bd8', '4e86da', '62c7d8', '91ed90', 'e4f178', 'ed6a4c'],\n};\nMap.setCenter(-110.21, 35.1, 4);\nMap.addLayer(temperature, temperatureVis, 'Temperature');\n```\n[Open in Code Editor](https://code.earthengine.google.com/?scriptPath=Examples:Datasets/NASA/NASA_NLDAS_FORA0125_H002) \n[NLDAS-2: North American Land Data Assimilation System Forcing Fields](/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/NASA_NLDAS_FORA0125_H002) \nLand Data Assimilation System (LDAS) combines multiple sources of observations (such as precipitation gauge data, satellite data, and radar precipitation measurements) to produce estimates of climatological properties at or near the Earth''s surface. This dataset is the primary (default) forcing file (File A) for Phase 2 of the North American ... \nNASA/NLDAS/FORA0125_H002, climate,evaporation,forcing,geophysical,hourly,humidity,ldas,nasa,precipitation,pressure,radiation,soil,temperature,water-vapor,wind \n1979-01-01T13:00:00Z/2025-08-29T12:00:00Z \n24.85 -125.15 53.28 -66.85 \nGoogle Earth Engine \nhttps://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets\n\n- [](https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5067/6J5LHHOHZHN4)\n- [](https://doi.org/https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/NASA_NLDAS_FORA0125_H002)"]]
