DS126.2 represents a dataset implemented and computed by NCAR's Data Support Section, and forms an essential part of efforts undertaken in late 2004, early 2005, to produce an archive of selected segments of ERA-40 on a standard transformation grid. In this case, ERA-40 monthly mean upper air variables (designated as MODA or moda below) on 60 model levels were transformed from either spherical harmonics (surface geopotential, temperature, vertical pressure velocity, vorticity, logarithm of surface pressure, divergence), or a reduced N80 Gaussian grid (specific humidity, ozone mass mixing ratio, cloud liquid water content, cloud ice water content, cloud cover), to a 256x128 regular Gaussian grid at T85 spectral truncation. In addition, horizontal wind components were derived from spectral vorticity and divergence and also archived on a T85 Gaussian grid. All scalar fields were transformed using routines from the ECMWF EMOS library, whereas the horizontal winds were obtained using NCAR's Spherepack library. All corresponding 00Z, 06Z, 12Z, and 18Z monthly mean upper air variables on 60 model levels were also transformed to a T85 Gaussian grid (designated as MNLY, mnly, or mnth below). The choice of a T85 Gaussian grid was based on considerations of limiting the volume of new data generated to a moderate level, and to match the horizontal resolution of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) component of NCAR's Community Climate System Model (CCSM).

The ERA-Interim data from ECMWF is an update to the ERA-40 project. The ERA-Interim data starts in 1989 and has a higher horizontal resolution (T255, N128 nominally 0.703125 degrees) than the ERA-40 data (T159, N80 nominally 1.125 degrees). ERA-Interim is based on a more current model than ERA-40 and uses 4-D VAR (as apposed to 3-D VAR in ERA-40). ECMWF will continue to run the ERA-Interim model in near real time thru at least 2010, and possibly longer. This data is available in ds627.0.