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Land Use/Land Cover Data Access and Tools

NASA data range from global assessments of snow cover albedo to food insecurity cropland extent measurements. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Commonly Used Land Cover/Crop Extent Data at a Glance

Spatial ResolutionSpatial CoverageTemporal ResolutionTemporal CoverageSpectral ResolutionSatellite/
Platform		Sensor(s)/ Model NameObservation or ModelFile Format
500 mGlobal1-2 days2001-202136 bands ranging from 0.4 µm to 14.4 µmTerra and AquaMODISObservationHDF-EOS
30 m, 90 m, 1 kmRegional datasetsMulti-year2007-2016
(varies)		VariesDerived from Landsat dataGFSADObservationGeoTIFF
30 mGlobalYearly2001-2019VariesDerived from Landsat dataGLanCEObservationGeoTIFF

Land Use/Land Cover Datasets

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Dataset Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Location Keywords Spatial Extent Data Format
India Village-Level Geospatial Socio-Economic Data Set: 1991, 2001 MODELS Computer 1991-01-01, 2001-12-31 INDIA N: 37.073831 S: 8.083816 E: 89.150397 W: 68.106253 Shapefile, Geodatabase, PDF, PNG, WMS
ISLSCP II AVHRR Albedo and BRDF, 1995 FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra STEEL MEASURING TAPE, LICOR LEAF AREA METER, AVHRR, MODIS 1995-02-01 to 1995-07-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
ISLSCP II C4 Vegetation Percentage FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra LICOR LEAF AREA METER, STEEL MEASURING TAPE, MODIS, AVHRR 1993-01-01 to 1998-12-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 ASCII
ISLSCP II Continuous Fields of Vegetation Cover, 1992-1993 FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra LICOR LEAF AREA METER, STEEL MEASURING TAPE, MODIS, AVHRR 1992-04-01 to 1993-05-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
ISLSCP II Ecosystem Rooting Depths FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra STEEL MEASURING TAPE, LICOR LEAF AREA METER, AVHRR, MODIS 1995-02-01 to 1995-07-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 ASCII
ISLSCP II FASIR-adjusted NDVI, 1982-1998 FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra LICOR LEAF AREA METER, STEEL MEASURING TAPE, AVHRR, MODIS 1982-01-01 to 1998-12-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
ISLSCP II GIMMS Monthly NDVI, 1981-2002 FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra LICOR LEAF AREA METER, STEEL MEASURING TAPE, AVHRR, MODIS 1981-07-01 to 2002-12-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
ISLSCP II Global Gridded Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 1990 Terra MODIS 1990-01-01 to 1990-12-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
ISLSCP II Global Population of the World Terra MODIS 1990-01-01 to 1995-12-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
ISLSCP II Historical Croplands Cover, 1700-1992 FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-14, Terra LICOR LEAF AREA METER, STEEL MEASURING TAPE, MODIS, AVHRR 1700-01-01 to 1992-12-31 N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 Shapefile
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Featured Land Use/Land Cover Observation Method: Sentinel-1
Sentinel-1 is a European Space Agency (ESA) satellites designed to acquire Earth-observation measurements and carries a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to provide all-weather, day-and-night imagery of Earth's surface. The platform was launched on April 3, 2014, and images Earth every six days. Sentinel-1 SAR data can reveal the surface roughness of the land, oil and vegetation moisture content, and vegetation density. The dadar data can also be used to determine water surface conditions such as waviness and identify water inundation into inland areas and beneath forest canopies.
Learn More About Sentinel-1
HLS data near Columbus, Nebraska from 2022

HLS: Two Together Better than Two Apart

The purpose of the Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) project led by IMPACT, is to combine two or more data streams into a single data set and increase their value.

Land Use/Land Cover Data Tools

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Tool Description Services
RTC Stack Processor The radiometric terrain correction (RTC) stack processor tool facilitates time-series analysis of such phenomena as flooding events, deforestation, or glacier retreat. Analysis, Processing, Search and Discovery, Visualization
VEDA NASA's Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis (VEDA) project is an open-source science cyberinfrastructure for data processing, visualization, exploration, and geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities. Access, Analysis, Processing, Visualization, Geoprocessing
Vertex Vertex is a graphical search interface for finding synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Search and Discovery, Access, Downloading, Processing, Subsetting
Worldview Worldview offers the capability to interactively browse over 1,200 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and download the underlying data. Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization, Access, Comparison, Monitoring Natural Events
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