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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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Filters
Dataset Version Platform Instrument Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
PALS/In Situ Multi-Campaign 800 m UTM Grid Brightness Temperature, Backscatter, and Soil Moisture Match-Up V001 1 AIRCRAFT PALS 1999-07-08 to 1999-07-14

N: 35.21 S: 34.91 E: -97.83 W: -98.67

,

N: 41.99 S: 41.92 E: -93.4 W: -93.8

,

N: 39.09 S: 38.95 E: -75.54 W: -76.18

800 Meters x 800 Meters ASCII
Pantropical Forest Height and Biomass from GEDI and TanDEM-X Data Fusion 1 ISS, G-LiHT, TDX GEDI, LIDAR, TDX-1 2011-01-06 to 2021-08-18

N: 33 S: -15.005 E: 15.005 W: -119

COG
PREFIRE Auxiliary Meteorology Data for PREFIRE Satellite 1 version R01 R01 PREFIRE-SAT1 TIRS-PREFIRE 2024-07-24 to Present

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

netCDF-4
PREFIRE Auxiliary Meteorology Data for PREFIRE Satellite 2 R01 R01 PREFIRE-SAT2 TIRS-PREFIRE 2024-06-29 to Present

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

netCDF-4
PREFIRE Auxiliary Satellite Data for PREFIRE Satellite 1 R01 R01 Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, GCOM-W1, DMSP 5D-3/F18, PREFIRE-SAT1 VIIRS, AMSR2, SSMIS, TIRS-PREFIRE 2024-07-24 to Present

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

netCDF-4
PREFIRE Auxiliary Satellite Data for PREFIRE Satellite 2 R01 R01 NOAA-20, Suomi-NPP, GCOM-W1, DMSP 5D-3/F18, PREFIRE-SAT2 VIIRS, AMSR2, SSMIS, TIRS-PREFIRE 2024-06-29 to Present

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

netCDF-4
Pre-LBA CABARE Mapped Land Surface and Vegetation Characteristics, Rondonia, Brazil 1 MAPS, LANDSAT DIGITIZER, TM 1978-01-01 to 1994-12-31

N: -8 S: -13 E: -60 W: -65

Text File
Pre-LBA ISLSCP Initiative I Data 1 NOAA-10, LANDSAT AVHRR, TM 1987-01-01 to 1988-12-31

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

Shapefile
Primary Ancillary Data Geo-Colocated to OMI/Aura UV2 1-Orbit L2 Swath 13x24km V4 (OMUANC) 004 Aura, GEOS-5 OMI, NOT APPLICABLE 2004-10-01 to Present

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

24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers
Primary Ancillary Data Geo-Colocated to OMI/Aura VIS 1-Orbit L2 Swath 13x24km V4 (OMVANC) 004 Aura, GEOS-5 OMI, NOT APPLICABLE 2004-10-01 to Present

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

24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers
PROVE Land Cover and Leaf Area of Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico, 1997 1 FIELD INVESTIGATION LICOR LEAF AREA METER, CAMERAS, SUNFLECK CEPTOMETER, LIDAR ALTIMETERS 1997-05-13 to 1997-05-31

N: 32.5 S: 32.5 E: -106.75 W: -106.75

CSV
PROVE Surface albedo of Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico, 1997 1 FIELD INVESTIGATION PYRANOMETERS, CAMERAS 1997-05-22 to 1997-05-27

N: 32.5 S: 32.5 E: -106.75 W: -106.75

CSV
Resilience of Coastal Wetlands to Sea Level Rise, CONUS, 1996-2100 1 MODELS Computer 1996-01-01 to 2100-12-31

N: 49.2069 S: 22.7276 E: -64.9678 W: -127.984

multiple
RLC AVHRR-Derived Land Cover, Former Soviet Union, 15-km, 1984-1993 1 NOAA-9 AVHRR 1984-01-01 to 1993-12-31

N: 75 S: 35.2389 E: 180 W: 19.816

multiple
RLC AVHRR-Derived Land Cover, Former Soviet Union, Far East, 1-km, 1990 1 NOAA-9 AVHRR 1990-05-15 to 1990-08-17

N: 71 S: 23.21 E: 180 W: 25

multiple
RLC Forest Cover Map of the Former Soviet Union, 1990 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1990-01-01 to 1990-12-31

N: 71 S: 23.21 E: 180 W: 25

BMP
RLC Forest Cover of the Former Soviet Union, 1973 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1973-01-01 to 1973-12-31

N: 75 S: 35.1659 E: 170 W: 19.8165

multiple
RLC Generalized Forest Map of the Former Soviet Union, 1-km 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1998-01-01 to 1998-12-31

N: 71 S: 23.21 E: 180 W: 25

BMP
RLC Vegetative Cover of the Former Soviet Union, 1990 1 MAPS DIGITIZER 1973-01-01 to 1973-12-31

N: 75 S: 35.1659 E: 170 W: 19.8165

multiple
Russian Boreal Forest Disturbance Maps Derived from Landsat Imagery, 1984-2000 1 Terra, LANDSAT-5 MODIS, TM, ETM+ 1984-06-01 to 2000-08-31

N: 65.3219 S: 43.7625 E: 138.627 W: 30.9828

GeoTIFF
SAFARI 2000 ALI/ETM+ Tandem Image Pair for Skukuza, South Africa, May 2001 1 EO-1, LANDSAT-7 ALI, SPECTRORADIOMETERS, ETM+ 2001-05-30 to 2001-05-30

N: -23.5902 S: -25.5025 E: 33.1174 W: 30.7568

Binary
SAFARI 2000 AVHRR-derived Land Surface Temperature Maps, Africa, 1995-2000 1 NOAA-14 AVHRR 1995-01-01 to 2000-12-31

N: 43.71 S: -42.24 E: 64.52 W: -24.6

multiple
SAFARI 2000 Carbon in Live Vegetation, 0.5-Deg (Olson) 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1960-01-01 to 1980-12-31

N: 5 S: -35 E: 60 W: 5

multiple
SAFARI 2000 Estimated BVOC Emissions for Southern African Land Cover Types 1 METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS, Terra THERMOMETERS, MODIS 2001-01-01 to 2001-12-31

N: 5 S: -35 E: 60 W: 5

CSV
SAFARI 2000 Hydrographic Data, 1-Deg, Release 2.2 (Cogley) 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1970-01-01 to 1990-01-01

N: 5 S: -35 E: 60 W: 5

multiple
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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
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