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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 Version Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
ABoVE: Landsat-derived Annual Dominant Land Cover Across ABoVE Core Domain, 1984-2014 1 MODELS, LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7 Computer, TM, ETM+ 1984-01-01 to 2014-12-31

N: 76.2257 S: 50.259 E: -98.974 W: -170.006

multiple
ABoVE: Landsat-derived Annual Dominant Land Cover in Boreal North America, 1986-2020 1 COMPUTERS, LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-8 Computer, TM, ETM+, OLI 1986-01-01 to 2020-12-31

N: 71.0677 S: 41.2276 E: -50.1766 W: -166.685

COG
ABoVE: Light-Curve Modelling of Gridded GPP Using MODIS MAIAC and Flux Tower Data 1 Terra, MODELS, METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS, AQUA MODIS, Computer, MMS 2000-01-01 to 2018-01-01

N: 79.7489 S: 50.0604 E: -73.6407 W: -172.078

HDF4
ABoVE: Peak Greenness for Canadian Boreal Forest from Landsat 5 TM Imagery, 1984-2011 1 LANDSAT-5 TM 1970-01-01 to 2014-12-31

N: 63.4406 S: 45.3217 E: -53.9102 W: -124.474

multiple
ABoVE: Subsistence Resource Use Areas of Interior Alaskan Communities, 2011-2017 1 FIELD SURVEYS VISUAL OBSERVATIONS 2011-01-01 to 2017-12-31

N: 70.1477 S: 51.7133 E: -131.525 W: -176.646

Shapefile
ABoVE: Surface Water Extent, Boreal and Tundra Regions, North America, 1991-2011 1.1 LANDSAT-4, LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7 TM, ETM+ 1990-01-01 to 2012-12-31

N: 82.3729 S: 41.7039 E: -53.9393 W: -177.475

GeoTIFF
ABoVE: Wetland Type, Slave River and Peace-Athabasca Deltas, Canada, 2007 and 2017 1 ALOS-2, LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-8, Sentinel-1A, ERS-2, ALOS PALSAR-2, IMAGING RADIOMETERS, PALSAR 2006-06-14 to 2019-05-28

N: 61.7919 S: 57.7746 E: -109.643 W: -115.291

multiple
Aboveground Biomass, Landcover, and Degradation, Kalimantan Forests, Indonesia, 2014 1 FIELD SURVEYS, Airplane, MODELS STEEL MEASURING TAPE, LIDAR, Computer 2014-10-18 to 2014-11-30

N: 8 S: -5 E: 120 W: 108

multiple
Airborne Hyperspectral Reflectance Indian Cave Nebraska Multi-Day 1 m 001 Airplane MULTI-SPECTRAL 2019-09-06 to 2022-08-05 ENVI
Airborne Hyperspectral Reflectance L1 Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Oklahoma Multi-Day 1 m 001 Airplane MULTI-SPECTRAL 2020-08-03, 2021-07-31, 2022-07-23 ENVI
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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

View All Data Tools
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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