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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 Resolution	Spatial Coverage	Temporal Resolution	Temporal Coverage	Spectral Resolution	Satellite/ Platform	Sensor(s)/ Model Name	Observation or Model	File Format
500 m	Global	1-2 days	2001-2021	36 bands ranging from 0.4 µm to 14.4 µm	Terra and Aqua	MODIS	Observation	HDF-EOS
30 m, 90 m, 1 km	Regional datasets	Multi-year	2007-2016 (varies)	Varies	Derived from Landsat data	GFSAD	Observation	GeoTIFF
30 m	Global	Yearly	2001-2019	Varies	Derived from Landsat data	GLanCE	Observation	GeoTIFF

Land Use/Land Cover Datasets

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Dataset Sort descending	Version	Platform	Instrument	Temporal Extent	Spatial Extent	Spatial Resolution	Data Format
Global Summer Land Surface Temperature (LST) Grids, 2013	1.0	MODELS	Computer	2013-01-01 to 2013-12-31	N: 80.01 S: -60.01 E: 179.99 W: -180	0.008365 Decimal Degrees x 0.008365 Decimal Degrees	GeoTIFF, PDF, PNG, WMS
Global Urban Heat Island (UHI) Data Set, 2013	1.0	MODELS	Computer	2013-01-01 to 2013-12-31	N: 78.28 S: -54.86 E: 179.46 W: -176.2		Excel, Shapefile, PDF, PNG, WMS
Global Vegetation Greenness (NDVI) from AVHRR GIMMS-3G+, 1981-2022	1	NOAA POES, METOP-A, METOP-B, METOP-C	AVHRR	1982-01-01 to 2022-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		netCDF-4 classic
GPM Ground Validation Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) OLYMPEX V1	1	UND CITATION II	LIDAR, VISIBLE SPECTROMETER	2014-09-04 to 2016-03-30	N: 48.0909 S: 47.493 E: -123.129 W: -124.185		GeoTIFF
Green Vegetation Fraction High-Resolution Maps for Selected US Tidal Marshes, 2015	1	Airplane, LANDSAT	CAMERA, ETM+	2013-09-25 to 2015-08-27	N: 47.121 S: 25.0847 E: -69.9266 W: -122.746		GeoTIFF
Greenness Trends and Carbon Stocks of Mangrove Forests Across Mexico, 2001-2015	1	Aqua, MODELS	MODIS, Computer	2001-01-01 to 2015-12-31	N: 29.7262 S: 14.4292 E: -86.5302 W: -114.055		multiple
Gridded Population of the World, Version 3 (GPWv3): Land and Geographic Unit Area Grids	3.0	MODELS	Computer	1990-07-01, 1995-07-01, 2000-07-01, 2005-07-01, 2010-07-01, 2015-07-01	N: 79.89196 S: -54.751503 E: 179.848323 W: -179.199552		ASCII, BIL, Grid, WMS
Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Data Quality Indicators, Revision 11	4.11	MODELS	Computer	2010-07-01	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	0.008333 Decimal Degrees x 0.008333 Decimal Degrees	ASCII, GeoTIFF, PDF, PNG, WMS
Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Land and Water Area	4.0	MODELS	Computer	2010-07-01	N: 85 S: -60 E: 180 W: -180		GeoTIFF
Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Land and Water Area, Revision 10	4.10	MODELS	Computer	2010-07-01	N: 85 S: -60 E: 180 W: -180		ASCII, GeoTIFF
Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Land and Water Area, Revision 11	4.11	MODELS	Computer	2010-07-01	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	0.008333 Decimal Degrees x 0.008333 Decimal Degrees	ASCII, GeoTIFF, PDF, PNG, WMS
Headwall Hyperspectral Reflectance LTER Cedar Creek Minnesota Multi-Year 1 mm	001	Airplane	MULTI-SPECTRAL	2014-06-01, 2014-07-01, 2015-07-31			ENVI
High Resolution Land Cover-Specific Solar-Induced Fluorescence, Midwestern USA, 2018	1	MODELS, Sentinel-5P, Aura	Computer, TROPOMI, MODIS	2018-05-02 to 2018-09-23	N: 49.9375 S: 34.9792 E: -77.9792 W: -110.021		netCDF-4
High-Resolution Vegetation Community Maps, Toolik Lake Area, Alaska, 2013-2015	1	Airplane, FIELD INVESTIGATION, MODELS	CAMERAS, LIDAR, VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, Computer	2013-08-01 to 2015-08-31	N: 68.6495 S: 68.6019 E: -149.292 W: -149.662		GeoTIFF
HLS Operational Land Imager Vegetation Indices Daily Global 30 m V2.0	2.0	LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-9	OLI	2013-04-11 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	COG
HLS Sentinel-2 Multi-spectral Instrument Vegetation Indices Daily Global 30 m V2.0	2.0	Sentinel-2A, Sentinel-2B, Sentinel-2C	Sentinel-2 MSI	2015-11-28 to Present	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	30 Meters x 30 Meters	COG
India Annual Winter Cropped Area, 2001-2016	1.0	MODELS, Terra	Computer, MODIS	2001-03-31 to 2016-03-31	N: 37.073831 S: 8.083816 E: 89.150397 W: 68.106253	0.008868 Decimal Degrees x 0.008868 Decimal Degrees	GeoTIFF, netCDF-4, PDF, PNG, WMS
India Village-Level Geospatial Socio-Economic Data Set: 1991, 2001	1.0	MODELS	Computer	1991-01-01, 2001-12-31	N: 37.073831 S: 8.083816 E: 89.150397 W: 68.106253		Shapefile, Geodatabase, PDF, PNG, WMS
ISLSCP II AVHRR Albedo and BRDF, 1995	1	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	1	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	1	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	1	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	1	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	1	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	1	Terra	MODIS	1990-01-01 to 1990-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		Shapefile

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

Earthdata graphic identifier on top of image of Earth

Sentinel-1 Images Reveal Changes in the Earth’s Surface Over One Year

NASA's ASF DAAC released the Global Seasonal Sentinel-1 Interferometric Coherence and Backscatter Dataset.

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.

Automatically Generate a Radiometrically Terrain-Corrected Sentinel-1 Image Using Cloud Computing

Learn how to use the CloudFormation Template to automate the processing of Sentinel-1 radiometrically terrain-corrected (RTC) products.

The rectangular image is a map of the St. Simons Island area of coastal Georgia. Land is colored white, roadways are black, inundated vegetation area are green, and water is colored blue. The Atlantic Ocean is in the lower-right of the image and its blue shaded area extends into waterways along the coast.

New Product Provides Detailed Maps of Water In and Around Landmasses

Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are used to create maps of surface water extent for research, planning, and disaster response.

Land Use/Land Cover Data Tools

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