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The CERRA reanalysis datasets are provided under Copernicus licence under licence and are available from the CDS at https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/.
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Parameters on single level
Metadata for CERRA surface parameters | |
Horizontal coverage | The model domain spans from northern Africa beyond the northern tip of Scandinavia. In the west it ranges far into the Atlantic Ocean and in the east it reaches to the Ural Mountains. Herewith, it covers entire Europe. |
Horizontal resolution | 5.5 km x 5.5 km for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis 11 km x 11 km for CERRA ensemble members |
Vertical coverage | Each surface parameter is valid for one level in the vertical. There are four different (near) surface levels:
The cloud cover is provided for 3 atmospheric layers. |
Vertical resolution | single level |
Temporal coverage | 1984-09-01 00 UTC – 2021-06-30 21 UTC |
Temporal resolution | CERRA high-resolution reanalysis:
CERRA ensemble members:
|
Data type and format | Gridded data in GRIB2 |
Grid | Lambert conformal conic grid; 1069x1069 grid points for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis; 565x565 grid points for CERRA-EDA |
Table 1: Overview of the surface parametersAnchor table1 table1
Name | Unit | GRIB code | Analysis 3 hourly | Forecast | Height | |
1. | 10m wind speed | m/s | 207 | yes | yes | 10m |
2. | 10m wind gust since previous post-processing | m/s | 49 | - | yes | 10m |
3. | 10m wind direction | degree of true North | 260260 | yes | yes | 10m |
4. | 2m relative humidity | % | 260242 | yes | yes | 2m |
5. | 2m temperature | K | 167 | yes | yes | 2m |
6. | Albedo | % | 260509 | yes | yes | surface |
7. | Evaporation | kg/m2 | 260259 | - | yes | surface |
8. | Total column integrated water vapour | kg/m2 | 260057 | yes | yes | vertically integrated above the surface |
9. | Total precipitation | kg/m2 | 228228 | - | yes | surface |
10. | Maximum 2m temperature since previous post-processing | K | 201 | - | yes | 2m |
11. | Minimum 2m temperature since previous post-processing | K | 202 | - | yes | 2m |
12. | Skin temperature | K | 235 | yes | yes | surface |
13. | Surface latent heat flux | J/m2 | 147 | - | yes | surface |
14. | Surface sensible heat flux | J/m2 | 146 | - | yes | surface |
15. | Time-integrated surface direct short-wave radiation | J/m2 | 260264 | - | yes | surface |
16. | Surface net solar radiation | J/m2 | 176 | - | yes | surface |
17. | Surface solar radiation downwards | J/m2 | 169 | - | yes | surface |
18. | Surface net thermal radiation | J/m2 | 177 | - | yes | surface |
19. | Surface thermal radiation downwards | J/m2 | 175 | - | yes | surface |
20. | Surface net solar radiation, clear sky | J/m2 | 210 | - | yes | surface |
21. | Surface net thermal radiation, clear sky | J/m2 | 211 | - | yes | surface |
22. | Momentum flux at the surface u-component | N/m2 | 235017 | - | yes | surface |
23. | Momentum flux at the surface v-component | N/m2 | 235018 | - | yes | surface |
24. | Mean sea level pressure | Pa | 151 | yes | yes | surface |
25. | Surface pressure | Pa | 134 | yes | yes | surface |
26. | High cloud cover | % | 3075 | yes | yes | above 5000m |
27. | Low cloud cover | % | 3073 | yes | yes | surface-2500m |
28. | Medium cloud cover | % | 3074 | yes | yes | 2500m-5000m |
29. | Total cloud cover | % | 228164 | yes | yes | above ground |
30. | Snow density | kg/m3 | 33 | yes | yes | surface |
31. | Snow depth | m | 3066 | yes | yes | surface |
32. | Snow depth water equivalent | kg/m2 | 228141 | yes | yes | surface |
33. | Snowfall water equivalent | kg/m2 | 228144 | - | yes | surface |
34. | Land-sea mask | dimensionless | 172 | yes | - | surface |
35. | Orography | m | 228002 | yes | - | surface |
36. | Surface roughness | m | 173 | yes | yes | surface |
| 37. | Soil temperature | K | 260360 | yes | yes | top layer of soil |
| 38. | Liquid Volumetric soil moisture (non-frozen) | m3/m3 | 260199 | yes | yes | top layer of soil |
| 39. | Volumetric soil moisture | m3/m3 | 260210 | yes | yes | top layer of soil |
10m wind speed
The 10-metre (10m) wind speed is the wind speed valid for the grid area determined for a height of 10m above the surface. The parameter is given in m/s. It is computed from both the zonal (u) and the meridional (v) wind components by wind speed=√u2+v2. The 10m wind speed is available for the analysis and the forecast time steps. For the forecast, the value is instantaneous meaning that it is valid for the last time step of the integration at the issued time step.
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Parameters on height levels
Metadata | |||||||
Horizontal coverage | The model domain spans from northern Africa beyond the northern tip of Scandinavia. In the west it ranges far into the Atlantic Ocean and in the east it reaches to the Ural Mountains. Herewith, it covers entire Europe. | ||||||
Horizontal resolution | 5.5 km x 5.5 km for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis 11 km x 11 km for CERRA ensemble members | ||||||
Vertical coverage | 11 height levels (from 15m up to 500m) | ||||||
Vertical levels | 15, 30, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400 and 500m | ||||||
Temporal coverage | 1984-09-01 00 UTC – 2021-06-30 21 UTC | ||||||
Temporal resolution |
CERRA high-resolution reanalysis:
CERRA ensemble members:
| ||||||
Data type and format | Gridded data in GRIB2 | ||||||
Grid | Lambert conformal conic grid; 1069x1069 grid points for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis; 565x565 grid points for CERRA-EDA |
Table 2: Overview of the parameters on height levelsAnchor table2 table2
Parameter | Unit | GRIB code | Analysis 3 hourly | forecast | |
1. | Wind speed | m/s | 10 | yes | yes |
2. | Wind direction | degree of true North | 3031 | yes | yes |
3. | Pressure | Pa | 54 | yes | yes |
4. | Relative humidity | % | 157 | yes | yes |
5. | Temperature | K | 130 | yes | yes |
6. | Specific cloud liquid water content | kg/kg | 246 | - | yes |
7. | Specific cloud ice water content | kg/kg | 247 | - | yes |
8. | Specific rain water content | kg/kg | 75 | - | yes |
9. | Specific snow water content | kg/kg | 76 | - | yes |
10. | Turbulent kinetic energy | J/kg | 260155 | - | yes |
Wind speed
Wind speed is the wind speed valid for the grid area determined for a certain height (15m-500m) above the surface. The parameter is given in m/s. It is computed from both the zonal (u) and the meridional (v) wind components by wind speed=u2+v2. The wind speed is available for the analysis and the forecast time steps. The value is instantaneous meaning that it is valid for the last time step of the integration at the issued time step.
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Parameters on pressure levels
Metadata | |
Horizontal coverage | The model domain spans from northern Africa beyond the northern tip of Scandinavia. In the west it ranges far into the Atlantic Ocean and in the east it reaches to the Ural Mountains. Herewith, it covers entire Europe. |
Horizontal resolution | 5.5 km x 5.5 km for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis 11 km x 11 km for CERRA ensemble members |
Vertical coverage | From 1000 hPa to 1 hPa |
| Vertical levels | 29 pressure levels (1000, 975, 950, 925, 900, 875, 850, 825, 800, 750, 700, 600, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30, 20, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1) |
Temporal coverage | 1984-09-01 00 UTC – 2021-06-30 21 UTC |
Temporal resolution | CERRA high-resolution reanalysis:
CERRA ensemble members:
|
Data type and format | Gridded data in GRIB2 |
Grid | Lambert conformal conic grid; 1069x1069 grid points for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis; 565x565 grid points for CERRA-EDA |
Table 3: Overview of the parameters on pressure levelsAnchor table3 table3
Parameter | Unit | GRIB code | Analysis 3 hourly | forecast | |
1. | Cloud cover | % | 260257 | - | yes |
2. | Specific cloud liquid water content | kg/kg | 246 | - | yes |
3. | Specific cloud ice water content | kg/kg | 247 | - | yes |
4. | Specific rain water content | kg/kg | 75 | - | yes |
5. | Specific snow water content | kg/kg | 76 | - | yes |
6. | Turbulent kinetic energy | J/kg | 260155 | - | yes |
7. | Relative humidity | % | 157 | yes | yes |
8. | Temperature | K | 130 | yes | yes |
9. | U-component of wind | m/s | 131 | yes | yes |
10. | V-component of wind | m/s | 132 | yes | yes |
11. | Geopotential | m2/s2 | 129 | yes | yes |
Cloud cover
Cloud cover is the percentage of sky covert with clouds. It is valid for the grid at the corresponding height. The parameter is given in %. Total cloud cover is only available for the forecast time steps. The value is instantaneous meaning that it is valid for the last time step of the integration at the issued time step.
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Table 4: Overview of parameters on model levels
Metadata | |
Horizontal coverage | The model domain spans from northern Africa beyond the northern tip of Scandinavia. In the west it ranges far into the Atlantic Ocean and in the east it reaches to the Ural Mountains. Herewith, it covers entire Europe. |
Horizontal resolution | 5.5 km x 5.5 km for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis 11 km x 11 km for CERRA ensemble members |
Vertical coverage | From approximately 10m (model level 106) above the surface to a height of 1 hPa (model level 1) |
Vertical levels | 106 hybrid atmospheric model levels (106, 105, 104 ... 3, 2, 1) |
Temporal coverage | 1984-09-01 00 UTC – 2021-06-30 21 UTC |
Temporal resolution | CERRA high-resolution reanalysis: 3-hourly analyses at 00, 03, 06, 09, 12, 15, 18 and 21 UTC CERRA ensemble members: 6-hourly analyses at 00, 06, 12 and 18 UTC Note: forecast data are not saved for the parameters on model levels |
Data type and format | Gridded data in GRIB2 |
Grid | Lambert conformal conic grid; 1069x1069 grid points for CERRA high-resolution reanalysis; 565x565 grid points for CERRA-EDA |
Table 4: Overview of parameters on model levelsAnchor table4 table4
Parameter | Unit | GRIB code | Analysis 3 hourly | forecast | |
1. | Specific humidity | kg/kg | 133 | yes | - |
2. | Temperature | K | 130 | yes | - |
3. | U-velocity | m/s | 131 | yes | - |
4. | V-velocity | m/s | 132 | yes | - |
Specific humidity
The specific humidity is the mass of water vapour per unit mass of air valid for the grid area at the corresponding model level. Only analyses are stored for parameters on model levels. The parameter is given in kg/kg.
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Below are the essential parameters describing the grid and the used Lambert Conformal Conic projection. More information about the grid and coordinates can be found in the FAQ.
Number of points along x-axis: 1069
Number of points along y-axis: 1069
X-direction grid length: 5500 m
Y-direction grid length: 5500 m
Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic
Central meridian: 8
Standard parallel 1: 50
Standard parallel 2: 50
Latitude of origin: 50
Earth assumed spherical with radius: 6371229 m
Latitude and longitude of the corner grid points in decimal degrees | ||
Grid point | Latitude | Longitude |
Upper-left | 63.7695 | -58.1051 |
Upper-right | 63.7695 | 74.1051 |
Lower-right | 20.2923 | 33.4859 |
Lower-left | 20.2923 | -17.4859 |
CERRA-EDA
CERRA-EDA comprises the same domain as CERRA and has exactly the same set of parameters as the high-resolution CERRA dataset. It differs only in the horizontal resolution, which is 11km as well as in the number of available time steps. CERRA-EDA has four analyses per day, at 00, 06, 12 and 18 UTC. Starting from the analyses, forecasts are run for six hours. Forecast fields are saved with hourly resolution.
Metadata for CERRA-EDA parameters | |
Horizontal coverage | Same as CERRA. |
Horizontal resolution | 11 km x 11 km |
Vertical coverage | Same as for CERRA parameters. |
Vertical resolution | Same as for CERRA-parameters. |
Temporal coverage | Same as for CERRA. |
Temporal resolution | Analyses are available at 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC. |
Data type and format | Gridded data in GRIB2 |
Grid | Lambert conformal conic grid with 565x565 grid points |
The CERRA-EDA grid description
Below are the essential parameters describing the CERRA-EDA grid and the used Lambert Conformal Conic projection. More information about the grid and coordinates can be found in the FAQ in section 2.3.
Number of points along x-axis: 565
Number of points along y-axis: 565
X-direction grid length: 11000 m
Y-direction grid length: 11000 m
Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic
Central meridian: 8
Standard parallel 1: 48
Standard parallel 2: 48
Latitude of origin: 48
Earth assumed spherical with radius: 6371229 m
Latitude and longitude of the corner grid points in decimal degrees | ||
Grid point | Latitude | Longitude |
Upper-left | 63.4028 | -60.4047 |
Upper-right | 63.4028 | 76.4047 |
Lower-right | 17.6121 | 34.3203 |
Lower-left | 17.6121 | -18.3203 |
Known issues
Wrong metadata for the 2m maximum and minimum temperature
The metadata for the forecast step range is incorrect in the GRIB2 files for the maximum 2m temperature since previous post-processing and the minimum 2m temperature since previous post-processing. The correct step range is given in the table below.
Step range in the metadata | Correct step range |
|---|---|
0-1 | 0-1 |
| 0-2 | 0-2 |
| 0-3 | 0-3 |
| 0-4 | 3-4 |
| 0-5 | 3-5 |
| 0-6 | 3-6 |
| 0-9 | 6-9 |
| 0-12 | 9-12 |
| 0-15 | 12-15 |
| 0-18 | 15-18 |
| 0-21 | 18-21 |
| 0-24 | 21-24 |
| 0-27 | 24-27 |
| 0-30 | 27-30 |
Minor data assimilation issues (issues when some observations were not available)
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For completeness, a list of the occurrences of missing observational data and affected periods are listed below.
| CERRA | |
|---|---|
| Affected period | Description |
| 2020-10-01 to 2021-06-30 | Fewer SYNOP data than usual. About 1850 instead of 2100 stations. |
| 2021-02-01 to 2021-03-31 | Only few AMV data assimilated in this period. |
2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31 2019-01-01 to 2019-04-09 | Only very few ocean buoy observations. |
2019-01-01 to 2019-03-09 | Data assimilation used a slightly degraded B-matrix. The climatological part of the B-matrix was shifted by two months, i.e. the November climatology was used instead of the January climatology. |
| CERRA-EDA | |
|---|---|
| Affected period | Description |
2021-04-01 to 2021-04-30 | IASI missing for both METOP-A and METOP-B |
2019-01-01 to 2019-05-31 | No AMV included. Only very few ocean buoy observations. |
2019-01-01 to 2019-01-02 | No additional local observations included for Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and France. |
| 2016-10-03 | The 18UTC cycle was ran without TEMP and PILOT data. |
1984-09-01 to present | No MSU data. |
Missing forecast parameters
| CERRA | ||
| Parameter | Forecast Time and Date | Forecast lead time |
10m wind gust since previous post-processing | 00 UTC, 1 April 2021 | +2h; +4h to +30h |
| Minimum 2m temperature since previous post-processing | 00 UTC, 1 April 2021 | +6h |
Maximum 2m temperature since previous post-processing | 00 UTC, 1 April 2021 | +6h |
| CERRA-EDA | ||
| Parameter | Forecast Time and Date | Forecast lead time |
10m wind gust since previous post-processing | 00 UTC, 1 April 2021 06 UTC, 1 April 2021 | +2h; +4h to +6h +2h; +4h to +6h |
| Minimum 2m temperature since previous post-processing | 00 UTC, 1 April 2021 06 UTC, 1 April 2021 | +6h +6h |
Maximum 2m temperature since previous post-processing | 00 UTC, 1 April 2021 06 UTC, 1 April 2021 | +6h +6h |
References
- Ridal, M., Bazile, E., Le Moigne, P., Randriamampianina, R., Schimanke, S., Andrae, U. et al. (2024) CERRA, the Copernicus European Regional Reanalysis system. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4764
- Bazile E, R. Abida, A. Verelle, P. Le Moigne and C. Szczypta (2017): MESCAN-SURFEX surface analysis, deliverable D2.8 of the UERRA project, http://www.uerra.eu/publications/deliverable-reports.html
- El-Said, A., Brousseau, P., Ridal, M., and Randriamampianina, R. (2022). Towards full flow-dependence: New temporally varying EDA quotient functionality to estimate background errors in CERRA. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 14, e2021MS002637. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002637
- Niermann D. et al. (2017): Scientific report on assessment of regional analysis against independent data sets, deliverable D3.6 of the UERRA project, http://www.uerra.eu/publications/deliverable-reports.html
- Ridal M., S. Schimanke and S. Hopsch (2018): Documentation of the RRA system: UERRA (C3S deliverable D322_Lot1.1.1.2, Documenting the UERRA system)
- Soci C., E. Bazile, F. Besson and T. Landelius (2016). High-resolution precipitation re-analysis system for climatological purposes. Tellus A, Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, 68:1, DOI: 10.3402/tellusa.v68.29879
- Verver Gé (2017): User Guidance, deliverable D8.4 of the UERRA project, http://www.uerra.eu/publications/deliverable-reports.html
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