 The ERA interim slash land data set is a global land surface reanalysis data set covering the period 1979 to 2010. It provides a comprehensive description of soil moisture, soil temperature, and snowpack evolution over this period. This data set was developed using the latest ECMWF land surface model driven by meteorological forcing from the ERA interim atmospheric reanalysis and adjusted precipitation from the global precipitation climatology project. The data set has been validated against ground based and remote sensing observations, and its quality has been assessed through comparison with these measurements. The data set provides a global integrated and coherent estimate of soil moisture and snow water equivalent, making it useful for initializing weather forecasting and climate models. This article was authored by G. Balsamo, C. Albergil, of Belljars, and others.