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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

View All Datasets
Dataset Version Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
Global 1-degree Maps of Forest Area, Carbon Stocks, and Biomass, 1950-2010 1 MAPS 1950-01-01 to 2010-12-31

N: 70 S: -70 E: 180 W: -180

multiple
Global 500-m Foliage Clumping Index Data Derived from MODIS BRDF, 2006 1 Terra, Aqua MODIS 2006-01-01 to 2006-12-31

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

GeoTIFF
Global Aboveground and Belowground Biomass Carbon Density Maps for the Year 2010 1 MODELS Computer 2010-01-01 to 2010-12-31

N: 84 S: -61.1 E: 180 W: -180

GeoTIFF
Global Agricultural Lands: Croplands, 2000 1.0 MODELS Computer 2000-01-01 to 2000-12-31

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

0.008333 Decimal Degrees x 0.008333 Decimal Degrees PDF, GeoTIFF, Grid, PNG, WMS
Global Agricultural Lands: Pastures, 2000 1.0 MODELS Computer 2000-01-01 to 2000-12-31

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

0.008333 Decimal Degrees x 0.008333 Decimal Degrees GeoTIFF, Grid, PDF, PNG, WMS
Global Distribution of Fine Root Biomass in Terrestrial Ecosystems 1 FIELD INVESTIGATION BALANCE, STEEL MEASURING TAPE 1965-01-01 to 1996-12-31

N: 75 S: -54 E: 175 W: -160

Text File
Global Distribution of Root Nutrient Concentrations in Terrestrial Ecosystems 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1959-01-01 to 1997-01-01

N: 60.82 S: -35.35 E: 148.9 W: -127.833

Text File
Global Distribution of Root Profiles in Terrestrial Ecosystems 1 FIELD INVESTIGATION VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, SOIL SAMPLER 1925-01-01 to 2000-12-31

N: 76 S: -46 E: 176 W: -157

CSV
Global Distribution of Root Turnover in Terrestrial Ecosystems 1 FIELD INVESTIGATION CORING DEVICES 1946-01-01 to 1999-12-01

N: 75 S: -54 E: 175 W: -160

Text File
Global Fire Atlas with Characteristics of Individual Fires, 2003-2016 1 COMPUTERS, Terra, Aqua Computer, MODIS 2003-01-01 to 2016-12-31

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

multiple
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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

View All Data Tools
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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