Maina et al. (2026) Retrospective and Near–Real-Time Surface Meteorology in the North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 3 (NLDAS-3)

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrometeorology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-09
• Authors: Fadji Zaouna Maina, Sujay V. Kumar, Christopher Hain, David M. Mocko, Kim A. Locke, Ryan Wade, Augusto Getirana, Jonathan L. Case, Kristen M. Whitney, Shahryar Ahmad, Timothy M. Lahmers, John Bolten, Justin Matthew Pflug, Robert Junod, Mitchell Dodson, Melissa L. Wrzesien, Vikalp Mishra, Wanshu Nie, Mahya Sadat Ghazi Zadeh Hashemi, Olya Skulovich, Milena Dimitrijevic, Nicolas Gasset, Dikra Khedhaouiria, Frank Lespinas, Maxim Bulat, Audrey Lauer, Nedka Pentcheva, Vincent Fortin
• DOI: 10.1175/jhm-d-26-0022.1

Research Groups

• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Hydrological Sciences Laboratory
• University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research Studies and Investigations
• NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Earth Science Branch
• University of Alabama in Huntsville, Earth System Science Center
• Environment and Climate Change Canada, Numerical Modelling & Prediction Research Division
• Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Short Summary

This study presents the North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 3 (NLDAS-3), a high-resolution surface meteorology dataset available in both retrospective and near-real-time modes. NLDAS-3 integrates satellite-based precipitation products and reanalysis fields from NASA and partner agencies, providing finer spatial resolution and broader geographic coverage than previous phases.

Objective

• Develop a high-resolution surface meteorology dataset for North and Central America
• Integrate satellite-based precipitation products and reanalysis fields to improve accuracy

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: 1 km resolution over the contiguous United States, expanded to all of North and Central America
• Temporal Scale: Hourly gridded surface meteorological data available in both retrospective and near-real-time modes

Methodology and Data

• Models used: NLDAS-3 integrates satellite-based precipitation products (e.g., TRMM, GPM) and reanalysis fields from NASA and partner agencies (e.g., MERRA-2)
• Data sources: Satellite data, reanalysis fields, and ground station observations

Main Results

• NLDAS-3 consistently outperforms existing products in terms of accuracy and precision
• Relative to NLDAS-2, NLDAS-3 achieves substantial average reductions in root mean square error (RMSE) for precipitation (18%), air temperature (10%), surface pressure (42%), and longwave radiation (22%)
• Extended Triple Collocation analysis further corroborates these improvements

Contributions

• NLDAS-3 represents a significant advancement in the quality, consistency, availability, and spatial resolution of surface meteorological data
• Provides a valuable resource for research and operational applications across North and Central America

Funding

• This research was funded by NASA's Terrestrial Hydrology Program (NNH17ZDA001N) and the National Science Foundation (AGS 1821116).

Citation

@article{Maina2026Retrospective,
  author = {Maina, Fadji Zaouna and Kumar, Sujay V. and Hain, Christopher and Mocko, David M. and Locke, Kim A. and Wade, Ryan and Getirana, Augusto and Case, Jonathan L. and Whitney, Kristen M. and Ahmad, Shahryar and Lahmers, Timothy M. and Bolten, John and Pflug, Justin Matthew and Junod, Robert and Dodson, Mitchell and Wrzesien, Melissa L. and Mishra, Vikalp and Nie, Wanshu and Hashemi, Mahya Sadat Ghazi Zadeh and Skulovich, Olya and Dimitrijevic, Milena and Gasset, Nicolas and Khedhaouiria, Dikra and Lespinas, Frank and Bulat, Maxim and Lauer, Audrey and Pentcheva, Nedka and Fortin, Vincent},
  title = {Retrospective and Near–Real-Time Surface Meteorology in the North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 3 (NLDAS-3)},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrometeorology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jhm-d-26-0022.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-26-0022.1}
}