Land Surface Data Access and Tools

NASA data provide key measurements of Earth’s land, allowing researchers to accurately understand its composition, processes, uses, and interactions. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Dataset	Geographic Region	Temporal Extent	Data Format	Potential Application Areas	Related Subtopics
ALOS PALSAR High Resolution Radiometric Terrain Corrected Product	Global	2006-03-23 to 2011-04-22		High-precision forest structure and biomass estimation Detailed wetland classification and monitoring Fine-scale surface deformation detection Terrain analysis in densely vegetated regions Resource exploration and geological mapping	erosion/ sedimentation, geomorphic landforms and processes, land use/ land cover, topography
ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Level 1 ScanSAR Product	Global	2014-08-01 to Present		Wide-area monitoring of land surface changes Regional vegetation and forest monitoring Large wetland area mapping and monitoring Continental-scale land use change detection Regional soil moisture assessment	geomorphic landforms and processes, land use/ land cover, topography
ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003	Global Land	2000-03-01 to 2013-11-30	Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG)	Detailed topographic analysis 3D visualization of landscapes Geological feature extraction Slope stability assessment	topography
ECOSTRESS Tiled Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Instantaneous L2 Global 70 m	Global Land	2018-07-09 to Present	Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG)	High-resolution urban heat island analysis Plant water stress monitoring	surface radiative properties, surface thermal properties
EMIT L2A Estimated Surface Reflectance and Uncertainty and Masks 60 m	Global Land	2022-08-09 to Present	NetCDF-4	Surface mineralogy mapping Geological exploration and resource assessment Soil composition analysis Environmental impact assessment Critical mineral identification Spectral library development for earth materials	land use/ land cover, soils
GEDI L2A Elevation and Height Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002	Global Land	2019-04-04 to 2023-03-16 2024-04-04 to Present	HDF5	Terrain model refinement under vegetation	topography
Global Hydrologic Soil Groups (HYSOGs250m) for Curve Number-Based Runoff Modeling	Global	2017-01-01 to 2017-11-28	GeoTIFF	Erosion potential mapping	land use/ land cover, soils
HLS Landsat Operational Land Imager Surface Reflectance and TOA Brightness Daily Global 30m v2.0	Global	2013-04-11 to Present	Cloud Optimized GeoTiff (COG)	Land cover and land use change monitoring Harmonized time series analysis with Sentinel-2	land use/ land cover, surface radiative properties
MAIAC Daily V01	Global	2015-06-13 to Present	PNG	Land cover and land use change analysis through improved atmospheric correction	land use/ land cover
MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1 km SIN Grid	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF-EOS2	Regional thermal environment monitoring Urban heat island effect studies Climate model validation for land surface processes Land surface process energy balance studies	surface radiative properties, surface thermal properties
MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance Daily L2G Global 250m SIN Grid V061	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF-EOS2	Land cover change detection Time series analysis of surface conditions	land use/ land cover, surface radiative properties
NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Global 1 arc second V003	Global Land	2000-02-11 to 2000-02-21	HGT	Global terrain mapping and analysis Geomorphological research Land use planning in variable terrain Erosion potential modeling	land use/ land cover, topography
OPERA Radiometric Terrain Corrected SAR Backscatter from Sentinel-1 Static Layers validated product (Version 1)	Global	2014-04-03 to Present	GeoTIFF XML	Long-term land cover monitoring with consistent reference layers Base mapping for change detection applications Terrain-corrected imagery for accurate spatial analysis Reference data for calibration of other SAR products Foundation for machine learning training datasets Consistent backdrop for time-series analysis	geomorphic landforms and processes, land use/ land cover,
SENTINEL-1A_SLC	Global	2014-04-03 to Present		Interferometric analysis for surface deformation detection Coherence-based change detection Polarimetric analysis for target characterization Phase-based classification of land cover Development of advanced SAR processing algorithms Time-series analysis for subtle change detection	erosion/ sedimentation, geomorphic landforms and processes, land use/ land cover, landscapes, topography
SENTINEL-1B_SLC	Global	2016-04-25 to 2021-12-24		High-resolution deformation mapping with interferometry Coherence analysis for subtle change detection Polarimetric target characterization Complex coherence analysis for vegetation structure Time-series analysis for seasonal change patterns	erosion/ sedimentation, geomorphic landforms and processes, land use/ land cover, landscapes, topography
Sentinel-1C Dual Polarization High Resolution Ground Range Detected Product	Global	2025-01-01 to Present	SAFE	Urban change detection and development monitoring Land cover classification with improved feature distinction	erosion/ sedimentation, geomorphic landforms and processes, land use/ land cover, topography
VIIRS/JPSS1 Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Day V002	Global	2018-01-01 to Present	HDF-EOS5	Surface thermal condition monitoring Climate change impact studies on land surface Thermal anomaly detection Ground frost mapping and monitoring	surface radiative properties, surface thermal properties
VIIRS/NPP Moderate Resolution 6-Min L1B Swath 750 m	Global	2021-12-15 to Present	HDF5 NetCDF-4	Multispectral environmental monitoring Land surface characterization Input for higher-level algorithms Vegetation monitoring Surface temperature retrieval input	land use/ land cover, surface thermal properties

Land Surface Datasets

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Dataset Sort descending	Version	Platform	Instrument	Temporal Extent	Spatial Extent	Spatial Resolution	Data Format
Arctic Vegetation Plots in Flux Tower Footprints, North Slope, Alaska, 2014	1	FIELD SURVEYS, FIELD INVESTIGATION	SOIL SAMPLER, VISUAL OBSERVATIONS	2014-07-18 to 2014-07-31	N: 71.325 S: 68.4851 E: -155.747 W: -157.414		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots in Northern NWT and YT, Canada, 1965-1966	1	FIELD SURVEYS, FIELD INVESTIGATION	VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, SOIL DEPTH PROBE	1965-06-09 to 1966-08-13	N: 68.8244 S: 68.2203 E: -135.697 W: -138.748		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots in NPS Arctic Network Parks, Alaska, 2002-2008	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION, FIELD SURVEYS	SOIL MOISTURE PROBE, VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, SOIL SAMPLER	2002-07-10 to 2008-08-10	N: 68.4902 S: 65.2767 E: -150.839 W: -165.323		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots in Willow Communities, North Slope, Alaska, 1997	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION, FIELD SURVEYS	BALANCE, PH METERS	1997-07-09 to 1997-08-17	N: 70.1878 S: 68.0331 E: -148.084 W: -149.851		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots Legacy Project Barter Island and Point Barrow, Alaska, 1994	1	FIELD SURVEYS, FIELD INVESTIGATION	VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, SOIL SAMPLER	1994-08-01 to 1994-08-11	N: 71.334 S: 70.1204 E: -143.597 W: -156.644		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots on Unalaska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 2007	1	FIELD SURVEYS, FIELD INVESTIGATION, LABORATORY	SOIL MOISTURE PROBE, VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, CONDUCTIVITY METERS, AUTOANALYZER	2007-08-03 to 2007-08-27	N: 53.9087 S: 53.84 E: -166.44 W: -166.518		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots, Poplars, Arctic and Interior AK and YT, Canada, 2003-2005	1	FIELD SURVEYS	VISUAL OBSERVATIONS	2003-06-18 to 2005-08-17	N: 69.4718 S: 61.076 E: -135.222 W: -162.741		CSV
Arctic Vegetation Plots, Prudhoe Bay ArcSEES Road Study, Lake Colleen, Alaska, 2014	1	FIELD SURVEYS, LABORATORY	CORING DEVICES, PROBES, GPS, THERMOMETERS, BALANCE	2014-08-06 to 2014-08-13	N: 70.2248 S: 70.2214 E: -148.467 W: -148.474		CSV
ASO L4 Lidar Point Cloud Digital Terrain Model 3m UTM Grid V001	1	DHC-6, King Air	Riegl LMS-Q1560	2014-08-23 to 2019-10-10	N: 38.35197009 S: 38.34702501 E: -119.1465541 W: -119.1526326 , N: 35.30827095 S: 34.84175616 E: -118.4895324 W: -118.9629908 , N: 36.34419115 S: 36.26066776 E: -116.8080226 W: -116.8720138 , N: 37.66784501 S: 37.62315324 E: -118.8966533 W: -118.9633777 , N: 37.22534041 S: 36.65336263 E: -118.3217888 W: -119.1602728 , N: 39.1707928 S: 38.70410623 E: -120.226893 W: -120.7784099 , N: 37.66909751 S: 37.55343841 E: -118.9505367 W: -119.0738527 , N: 38.19435311 S: 37.72826254 E: -119.186547 W: -119.8057568 , N: 36.60719927 S: 36.57913838 E: -118.1711431 W: -118.1954763 , N: 38.00096209 S: 37.88126056 E: -119.0973977 W: -119.3268503 , N: 38.70477998 S: 38.2451699 E: -119.7120234 W: -120.5498287 , N: 37.82021489 S: 37.7033706 E: -119.0372786 W: -119.2728401 , N: 34.89283042 S: 34.77783945 E: -118.002307 W: -118.1399209 , N: 39.46925434 S: 39.39914367 E: -120.223812 W: -120.3261438 , N: 37.82737428 S: 36.96180713 E: -118.5442576 W: -119.733051 , N: 38.19435311 S: 37.72826254 E: -119.186547 W: -119.8057568 , N: 38.2410645 S: 37.72115314 E: -119.1836864 W: -119.9391373 , N: 38.2451472 S: 37.53568061 E: -118.9505367 W: -119.9391373 , N: 39.08139862 S: 38.75359563 E: -106.8593645 W: -107.1468517 , N: 37.39120306 S: 36.99987095 E: -106.1673098 W: -106.710676 , N: 38.87467886 S: 37.69229517 E: -107.3598092 W: -109.1308069 , N: 39.2728431526 S: 38.7772370906 E: -107.525643057 W: -108.369145146 , N: 37.98230157 S: 37.39058532 E: -106.4596899 W: -107.5708232 , N: 38.20771619 S: 37.8841623 E: -107.562078 W: -107.9723537 , N: 42.38520848 S: 42.2881819 E: -114.6804318 W: -114.7176046 , N: 43.31809187 S: 43.05520107 E: -116.6802206 W: -116.8670348 , N: 36.9129972 S: 36.43705955 E: -113.8795636 W: -114.3776573 , N: 44.18033752 S: 43.90476142 E: -121.6276046 W: -121.8757381 , N: 44.52793541 S: 44.31700873 E: -121.8134424 W: -122.1078409 , N: 46.97583352 S: 46.72413964 E: -121.5709621 W: -121.9573479 , N: 48.09085803 S: 47.4930029 E: -123.1287659 W: -124.1847181 , N: 37.39260287 S: 37.37399023 E: -118.4109694 W: -118.4259857 , N: 38.22396341 S: 38.20402645 E: -118.9948678 W: -119.0204053 , N: 37.20269975 S: 37.13101764 E: -118.2969065 W: -118.4150135 , N: 38.2329357 S: 37.96872691 E: -119.5873395 W: -119.9391373	3 Meters x 3 Meters	GeoTIFF
ASTER Digital Elevation Model V003	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-06 to 2025-12-15	N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	GeoTIFF
ASTER Digital Elevation Model V004	004	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-06 to Present	N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	COG
ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V002	002	Terra	ASTER	1999-12-18 to 2011-02-28	N: 82 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180		GeoTIFF
ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-01 to 2013-11-30	N: 82 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	COG
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset 1 kilometer Binary	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-04-04 to 2008-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1000 Meters x 1000 Meters	Binary
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, 1 kilometer, HDF5 V003	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-01-01 to 2008-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1000 Meters x 1000 Meters	HDF5
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset 100 meter Binary	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-04-01 to 2008-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	100 Meters x 100 Meters	Binary
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, 100 meter, HDF5 V003	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-01-01 to 2008-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	100 Meters x 100 Meters	HDF5
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, Monthly, 0.05 deg, HDF5	004	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-01 to 2015-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	5600 Meters x 5600 Meters	HDF5
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, Monthly, 0.05 deg, HDF5 V041	041	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-01 to 2015-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	5600 Meters x 5600 Meters	HDF5
ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, Monthly, 0.05 deg, netCDF4	004	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-01 to 2015-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	5600 Meters x 5600 Meters	netCDF-4
ASTER Global Water Bodies Database V001	001	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-01 to 2013-11-30	N: 82 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	GeoTIFF
ASTER L2 Surface Emissivity V003	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-04 to 2025-12-15	N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	90 Meters x 90 Meters	HDF-EOS2, GeoTIFF
ASTER L2 Surface Emissivity V004	004	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-04 to 2026-01-16	N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	90 Meters x 90 Meters	COG
ASTER L2 Surface Kinetic Temperature V004	004	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-04 to 2026-01-16	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	90 Meters x 90 Meters	COG
ASTER L2 Surface Reflectance SWIR and ASTER L2 Surface Reflectance VNIR V003	003	Terra	ASTER	2000-03-06 to 2025-12-15	N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180	15 Meters x 15 Meters 30 Meters x 30 Meters	HDF-EOS2, GeoTIFF

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Land Surface Data Access and Tools

Commonly Used Datasets for Land Surface Applications

Land Surface Datasets

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