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
Soil Moisture Data: Peck (FIFE)	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION	CORING DEVICES, BALANCE	1987-06-02 to 1989-08-09	N: 39.12 S: 38.97 E: -96.48 W: -96.62		multiple
Soil Moisture Gravimetric Data (FIFE)	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION	CORING DEVICES, BALANCE	1987-05-20 to 1989-10-31	N: 39.12 S: 38.98 E: -96.45 W: -96.61		CSV
Soil Moisture Neutron Probe Data (FIFE)	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION	NEUTRON PROBE, CORING DEVICES	1987-05-28 to 1989-08-10	N: 39.12 S: 38.98 E: -96.45 W: -96.61		CSV
Soil Moisture Profiles and Temperature Data from SoilSCAPE Sites, USA	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION		2011-08-03 to 2019-12-14	N: 42.299 S: 31.7355 E: -83.663 W: -120.99		netCDF-4
Soil Moisture Profiles and Temperature Data from SoilSCAPE Sites, Version 2	2	FIELD INVESTIGATION	SOIL DEPTH PROBE, SOIL MOISTURE PROBE	2021-12-03 to 2023-02-03	N: 37.1954 S: -36.7161 E: 174.616 W: -110.053		netCDF-4
Soil Moisture Release Data (FIFE)	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION	SOIL PRESSURE PLATE	1989-10-31 to 1989-10-31	N: 39.09 S: 39.05 E: -96.47 W: -96.6		multiple
Soil Moisture Transect Data (FIFE)	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION	CORING DEVICES, BALANCE	1985-06-13 to 1987-10-15	N: 39.08 S: 39.05 E: -96.54 W: -96.57		multiple
Soil Organic Carbon and Wetland Intrinsic Potential, Hoh River Watershed, WA, 2012-13	1	MODELS	Computer	2012-01-01 to 2022-06-29	N: 47.9 S: 47.57 E: -123.83 W: -124.54		multiple
Soil Organic Carbon Distributions in Tidal Wetlands of the Northeastern USA	1	MODELS	Computer	1998-01-01 to 2018-12-31	N: 45.2588 S: 37.08 E: -66.945 W: -76.3478		multiple
Soil Organic Carbon Estimates and Uncertainty at 1-m Depth across Mexico, 1999-2009	1	FIELD SURVEYS, Models	SOIL SAMPLER, Computer	1999-01-01 to 2009-12-31	N: 32.7178 S: 14.5328 E: -86.7401 W: -117.124		multiple
Soil Organic Carbon Estimates for 30-cm Depth, Mexico and Conterminous USA, 1991-2011	1	Models	Computer	1991-01-01 to 2011-12-31	N: 49.6107 S: 11.3234 E: -65.5794 W: -129.789		multiple
Soil Organic Carbon Stock Estimates with Uncertainty across Latin America	1	Models	Computer	2018-06-14 to 2018-06-14	N: 35.5592 S: -58.5761 E: -31.2372 W: -121.288		multiple
Soil Respiration Maps for the ABoVE Domain, 2016-2017	1	Models	Computer	2016-08-18 to 2018-09-12	N: 76.6874 S: 55.8073 E: -98.7366 W: -169.505		multiple
Soil Survey Reference (FIFE)	1	FIELD SURVEYS	VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, CORING DEVICES	1989-10-31 to 1989-10-31	N: 40 S: 37 E: -95 W: -102		multiple
Soil Thermal Conductivity Data (FIFE)	1	LABORATORY, FIELD INVESTIGATION	BALANCE, SOIL HEAT PROBE	1987-10-18 to 1987-10-18	N: 39.12 S: 38.98 E: -96.45 W: -96.61		multiple
Soil Water Prop. Derived Data (FIFE)	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1989-10-31 to 1989-10-31	N: 39.09 S: 39.05 E: -96.47 W: -96.6		multiple
SOLVE I DC-8 Aircraft In-situ Photolysis Rate Data	1	MODELS, NASA DC-8	Computer, SAFS	1999-11-16 to 2000-03-15			AMES
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR + MW Level 2: Atmospheric state at Standard Pressure Levels derived from CLIMCAPS V2.1 (SNDRAQIML2PLEVCPS) at GES DISC	2.1	Aqua	AIRS	2002-08-31 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR + MW Level 2 CLIMCAPS: Retrieved atmospheric state V2.1 (SNDRAQIML2CPS) at GES DISC	2.1	Aqua	AIRS, AMSU-A	2002-08-31 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR + MW Level 3 CLIMCAPS : Comprehensive Quality Control Gridded Daily V2 (SNDRAQIML3CDCCP) at GES DISC	2	Aqua	AIRS, AMSU-A	2002-08-31 to 2016-09-26	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR + MW Level 3 CLIMCAPS : Comprehensive Quality Control Gridded Monthly V2 (SNDRAQIML3CMCCP) at GES DISC	2	Aqua	AIRS, AMSU-A	2002-08-31 to 2016-10-01	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR + MW Level 3 CLIMCAPS: Specific Quality Control Gridded Monthly V2 (SNDRAQIML3SMCCP) at GES DISC	2	Aqua	AIRS, AMSU-A	2002-08-31 to 2016-09-26	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR MW Level 3 CLIMCAPS : Specific Quality Control Gridded Daily V2 (SNDRAQIML3SDCCP) at GES DISC	2	Aqua	AIRS, AMSU-A	2002-08-31 to 2016-09-26	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR-only Level 2 CLIMCAPS : Atmosphere, cloud and surface geophysical state V2 (SNDRAQIL2CCPRET) at GES DISC	2	Aqua	AIRS	2002-08-30 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Sounder SIPS: AQUA AIRS IR-only Level 2 CLIMCAPS: retrieved atmospheric state V2.1 (SNDRAQIL2CPS) at GES DISC	2.1	Aqua	AIRS	2002-08-31 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

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Land Surface Data Access and Tools

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