dataset · Europe

CERRA-Land sub-daily regional reanalysis data for Europe from 1984 to present

The Copernicus European Regional ReAnalysis Land (CERRA-Land) dataset provides spatially and temporally consistent historical reconstructions of surface and soil variables at the same horizontal resolution as the CERRA high-resolution reanalysis. The need for precipitation and surface variables at an ever-increasing spatial and temporal resolution is a recurrent demand. These variables allow, among other things, to address water resource management issues and to carry out climate change impact s

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Source details

Licence: CC-BY-4.0

Evidence quality: 36.6

Listed in cds public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).

Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z

What's in it

Data offered docs-verified: soil moisture (volumetric and liquid, 14 soil layers to 12 m) · soil temperature (14 soil layers) · snow depth · snow depth water equivalent · fraction of snow cover · snow melt · total precipitation (daily analysis) · evaporation · surface runoff · percolation · surface net solar radiation · surface net thermal radiation · skin temperature · albedo · lake temperature, depth and ice variables (Flake model)
Coverage docs-verified: Europe · September 1984 to present
Resolution docs-verified: 5.5 km x 5.5 km horizontal; daily (24-h) total precipitation analysis; hourly forecasts for other variables; 14 soil layers
Update frequency docs-verified: Half-yearly (June and December)
Formats docs-verified: GRIB2
Access docs-verified: Free download under CC-BY-4.0 licence (docs state CC-BY). ENTRY lists no auth. Docs page shows Login/Register links, but an account requirement is not explicitly stated.

Useful for

Use cases llm-inferred: Long-run soil moisture and snowpack baseline for antecedent-condition analysis in flood risk assessments · Historical snowmelt and snowpack inputs for upland catchment water balance studies · Multi-decade soil moisture record for climate change impact studies on water resources · Regional precipitation context for drainage strategies, to be checked against local rainfall records
Audience llm-inferred: hydrologists · flood consultants · water resources engineers · climate change consultants · GIS analysts

Limitations

Constraints docs-verified: A number of spatial gaps are to be expected in the data · Total precipitation is provided as a daily analysis only; hourly values are forecasts · Most data are open-loop SURFEX forecasts run offline, without feedback to the atmospheric analysis · Observations are not used directly in production; they influence the data only indirectly through atmospheric forcing · New data is added only half-yearly, so the most recent period lags behind real time · 5.5 km grid is coarse for site-scale or local drainage work

Evidence

Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.