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Biosphere Data Access and Tools

NASA biosphere data range from surface reflectance data useful for measuring the greenness of vegetation to measurements of nighttime lights that disrupt the behaviors of wildlife. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Biosphere Datasets

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Dataset Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Location Keywords Data Format
Delta-X: UAVSAR L3 Water Level Changes, MRD, Louisiana, 2021 G-III UAVSAR 2021-03-27 to 2021-09-13 LOUISIANA ENVI
Dendrometer, Soil, and Weather Observations, Arctic Tree Line, AK and NWT, 2016-2019 METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS, FIELD SURVEYS PYRANOMETERS, HUMIDITY SENSORS, SOIL TEMPERATURE PROBE, DENDROMETERS, SOIL MOISTURE PROBE 2016-06-07 to 2019-09-13 ALASKA, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES CSV
Development and Evolution of NASA Satellite Remote Sensing for Ecology Publications Computer 1972-01-01 to 2014-12-31 GLOBAL PDF
Digital Elevation Models for the Global Change Research Wetland, Maryland, USA, 2016 Airplane, FIELD SURVEYS, COASTAL STATIONS, MODELS LIDAR, VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, GPS RECEIVERS, TIDE GAUGES, Computer 2016-06-22 to 2016-08-15 MARYLAND multiple
Distribution of Estimated Stand Age Across Siberian Larch Forests, 1989-2012 LANDSAT, MODELS, Terra ETM+, TM, Computer, MODIS 1989-01-01 to 2012-12-31 GeoTIFF
Distribution of Young Forests and Estimated Stand Age across Russia, 2012 Aqua, Terra, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-5 MODIS, ETM+, TM 2012-01-01 to 2012-12-31 GeoTIFF
Disturbance History and Forest Biomass from Landsat for Six US Sites, 1985-2014 FIELD SURVEYS, LANDSAT STEEL MEASURING TAPE, LIDAR 1984-01-01 to 2014-12-31 MAINE, MINNESOTA, PENNSYLVANIA, OREGON, SOUTH CAROLINA netCDF-4 classic
DSCOVR EPIC Level 2 Vegetation Earth System Data Record (VESDR), Version 2 DSCOVR EPIC 2015-06-13 to Present GLOBAL HDF5
ECHIDNA LIDAR Campaigns: Forest Canopy Imagery and Field Data, U.S.A., 2007-2009 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 2007-08-01 to 2009-08-05 multiple
ECMWF SMST Data ECMWF 2025-08-01 to Present netCDF-3
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VIIRS
Vegetation indices measure the amount of green vegetation over a given area and can be used to assess vegetation health. A commonly-used vegetation index is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which uses the difference between near-infrared (NIR) and red reflectance divided by their sum. NDVI values range from -1 to 1. Low values of NDVI generally correspond to barren areas of rock, sand, exposed soils, or snow, while higher NDVI values indicate greener vegetation, including forests, croplands, and wetlands.
VIIRS Vegetation Indices on Earthdata Search

Biosphere Data Tools

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Tool Description Services
AppEEARS The The Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS) offers users a simple and efficient way to perform data access and transformation processes. Search and Discovery, Subsetting, Customization, Downloading, Visualization
Biomass Earthdata Dashboard Observe global forest biomass harmonization activity with the Biomass Earthdata Dashboard. Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization
CASEI The Catalog of Archived Suborbital Earth Science Investigations (CASEI) is a comprehensive inventory of contextual information for NASA's Earth Science airborne and field campaigns. Search and Discovery, Cataloging
Earthdata Search Earthdata Search enables data discovery, search, comparison, visualization, and access across NASA’s Earth science data holdings. Search and Discovery, Access, Cataloging, Cloud Computing, Downloading
FIRMS The Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) provides access to satellite imagery, active fire/hotspots, and related products to identify the location, extent, and intensity of wildfire activity. Access, Visualization
Giovanni Giovanni is a web application for accessing, visualizing, and analyzing Earth science remote sensing data without downloading the data. Search and Discovery, Analysis, Access, Visualization, Downloading, Subsetting
OpenAltimetry OpenAltimetry is a map-based visualization tool for exploring surface elevation data across Earth over time. Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization
Panoply Panoply is a cross-platform application that plots geo-referenced and other arrays from netCDF, HDF, GRIB, and other datasets. Visualization, Customization, Reformatting, Subsetting, Comparison
POPGRID Viewer POPGRID Viewer explores the intercomparison of population counts and settlement mapping from leading global data sources. Comparison
POWER DAV The POWER project’s Data Access Viewer (DAV) is an interactive web-mapping application that provides access to NASA’s customized solar and meteorological data catalog. Analysis, Downloading, Subsetting, Visualization
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