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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 Version Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
ECMWF SMST Data 1 ECMWF 2025-08-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.1 Decimal Degrees x 0.1 Decimal Degrees netCDF-3
ECOSTRESS Water Use Efficiency Daily L4 Global 70m V001 001 ISS ECOSTRESS 2018-07-15 to 2023-02-25

N: 54 S: -54 E: 180 W: -180

70 Meters x 70 Meters HDF5
Ecosys Model-Estimated Cropland Carbon Fluxes, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, 2001-2018 1 COMPUTERS Computer 2001-01-01 to 2018-12-31

N: 43.5012 S: 36.9703 E: -84.7846 W: -96.6397

Shapefile
Ecosystem Demography Model: Scaling Vegetation Dynamics Across South America 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1987-01-01 to 1988-12-31

N: 15 S: -15 E: -30 W: -85

multiple
Ecosystem Demography Model: U.S. Ecosystem Carbon Stocks and Fluxes, 1700-1990 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1700-01-01 to 1990-12-31

N: 52 S: 21.5 E: -30.5 W: -164.5

multiple
Ecosystem Functional Type Distribution Map for Mexico, 2001-2014 1 Terra, MODELS MODIS, Computer 2001-01-01 to 2014-12-31

N: 33 S: 14 E: -86 W: -118.4

GeoTIFF
Ecosystem Functional Type Distribution Map for the Conterminous USA, 2001-2014 1 MODELS, Terra Computer, MODIS 2001-01-01 to 2014-12-31

N: 49.36 S: 24.55 E: -67 W: -124.77

GeoTIFF
Effects of Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Litter Chemistry and Decomposition 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1993-01-01 to 2000-11-21

N: 76.63 S: -47.31 E: 179.41 W: -180

Text File
EMIT L4 Earth System Model Products V001 001 ISS EMIT Imaging Spectrometer 2007-01-01

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

1.25 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees<br>2.5 Decimal Degrees x 2 Decimal Degrees netCDF-4
ENVISAT MERIS Level-2 Regional Full Resolution, Full Swath (FRS) Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) Data, version 2022.0 2022.0 ENVISAT MERIS 2002-03-21 to 2012-05-09

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

netCDF-4
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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
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
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
STREAM STREAM is a rapid water quality monitoring tool that processes satellite imagery to create maps showing chlorophyll-a, Total Suspended Solids, and water clarity at 20-30 meter resolution. Processing
TESViS The Terrestrial Ecology Subsetting & Visualization Services Global Subsets Tool provides on-demand, customized subsets of several terrestrial ecology data products. Visualization, Subsetting
SHOWING 10 OF 12

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