28.01.2019

Compared to the previous reanalysis, ERA-Interim, a range of improvements has been made: the algorithms have been enhanced and the temporal coverage has been extended 30 years further into the past (until 1950). The temporal resolution has been refined from 6 hours to 1 hour, the horizontal resolution has increased from 79 to 31 km and the number of model levels has been augmented from 60 to 137. The amount of observation data used for assimilation has increased as well. Moreover, an estimation of uncertainties has been derived from assimilation ensembles, albeit at lower spatial resolution. The most frequently requested data for the time since the year 2000 are available locally to DKRZ users on the high performance computer Mistral and can be provided to external users upon request. It is planned to make the ERA5 data available worldwide through the DKRZ-operated World Data Center for Climate (WDCC).
The data are EU-funded and originated within the scope of the Copernicus project. ERA5 data is therefore free and openly available for all intended purposes including commercial use and can be downloaded free of charge. At present the reanalyses from 1979 on have been completed and released by ECMWF; the three preceding decades are currently being assimilated.

 

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Comparison of resolutions for ERA5 and ERA-Interim for the example of hurricane  "Florence" in September 2018 (graphics & data: ECMWF/Copernicus/EU).

Details on the ERA5 data can be found in the data documentation of ECMWF:

https://confluence.ecmwf.int//display/CKB/ERA5+data+documentation

Technical details have been described by DKRZ at:
https://www.dkrz.de/up/services/data-management/projects-and-cooperations/era/era