Abstract
Abstract. This data set, which is prepared for the Stratosphere–troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP), provides several zonal-mean diagnostics computed from reanalysis data on pressure levels. Diagnostics are currently provided for a variety of reanalyses, including ERA-40, ERA-Interim, ERA-20C, NCEP–NCAR, NCEP–DOE, CFSR, 20CR v2 and v2c, JRA-25, JRA-55, JRA-55C, JRA-55AMIP, MERRA, and MERRA-2. The data set will be expanded to include additional reanalyses as they become available. Basic dynamical variables (such as temperature, geopotential height, and three-dimensional winds) are provided in addition to a complete set of terms from the Eulerian-mean and transformed-Eulerian-mean momentum equations. Total diabatic heating and its long-wave and shortwave components are included as availability permits, along with heating rates diagnosed from the basic dynamical variables using the zonal-mean thermodynamic equation. Two versions of the data set are provided, one that uses horizontal and vertical grids provided by the various reanalysis centers and another that uses a common grid (CG) to facilitate comparison among data sets. For the common grid, all diagnostics are interpolated horizontally onto a regular 2.5∘×2.5∘ grid for a subset of pressure levels that are common among all included reanalyses. The dynamical (Martineau, 2017, https://doi.org/10.5285/b241a7f536a244749662360bd7839312) and diabatic (Wright, 2017, https://doi.org/10.5285/70146c789eda4296a3c3ab6706931d56) variables are archived and maintained by the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA).
Highlights
Reanalysis products are commonly used to study weather and climate variability and to validate climate models
The Stratosphere–troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (Fujiwara et al, 2017, SPARC Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP);) undertakes to compare reanalysis data sets, understand the causes of the differences, and provide guidance on the appropriate usage of reanalyses
Three of these reanalyses have been produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF): the ECMWF 40-year Reanalysis (ERA40), the ECMWF Interim Reanalysis (ERA-Interim), and the ECMWF 20th Century Reanalysis (ERA-20C)
Summary
Reanalysis products are commonly used to study weather and climate variability and to validate climate models. The Stratosphere–troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (Fujiwara et al, 2017, S-RIP;) undertakes to compare reanalysis data sets, understand the causes of the differences, and provide guidance on the appropriate usage of reanalyses (all abbreviations are collected in Appendix A). To facilitate this comparison, we have prepared a data set containing zonalmean variables on pressure levels using a consistent set of numerical methods and a unified file format. Highest level (hPa) Grid resolution (◦) a ERA-40 ERA-Interim ERA-20C NCEP–NCAR NCEP–DOE CFSRb 20CR (v2) 20CR (v2c) JRA-25 JRA-55 JRA-55C JRA-55AMIP MERRAc MERRA-2c
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