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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

Filters
Dataset Sort descending Version Platform Instrument Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
ECOSTRESS Tiled Ancillary NDVI and Albedo L2 Global 70 m V002 002 ISS, Suomi-NPP, Sentinel-2A, Sentinel-2B, LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-9 ECOSTRESS, VIIRS, Sentinel-2 MSI, OLI 2018-07-09 to Present

N: 54 S: -54 E: 180 W: -180

70 Meters x 70 Meters COG
ECOSTRESS Tiled Ancillary NDVI and Albedo L2 Global 70 m V003 003 ISS, Suomi-NPP, Sentinel-2A, Sentinel-2B, LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-9 ECOSTRESS, VIIRS, Sentinel-2 MSI, OLI 2018-07-09 to Present

N: 54 S: -54 E: 180 W: -180

70 Meters x 70 Meters COG
Ecosystem Demography Model: U.S. Ecosystem Carbon Stocks and Fluxes, 1700-1990 1 NOT APPLICABLE NOT APPLICABLE 1700-01-01 to 1990-12-31

N: 52 S: 21.5 E: -30.5 W: -164.5

multiple
EMIT L2B Fractional Cover and Uncertainty 60 m V001 001 ISS EMIT Imaging Spectrometer 2022-08-09 to 2026-08-31

N: 54 S: -54 E: 180 W: -180

60 Meters x 60 Meters COG
FLUXNET Research Network Site Characteristics, Investigators, and Bibliography, 2016 1 GROUND STATIONS, GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS ANEMOMETERS, RAIN GAUGES, THERMOMETERS 1991-01-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 78.921 S: -62.2321 E: 175.554 W: -157.409

CSV
Forest Carbon Stocks and Fluxes After Disturbance, Southeastern USA, 1990-2010 1.1 MODELS Computer 1986-01-01 to 2010-12-31

N: 40.8894 S: 23.2283 E: -71.2798 W: -89.0103

GeoTIFF
Geoecology: County-Level Environmental Data for the United States, 1941-1981 1 COMPUTERS Computer 1941-01-01 to 1981-12-31

N: 49.3844 S: 24.4981 E: -66.9499 W: -124.763

Text File
Global 1-km Downscaled Urban Land Extent Projection and Base Year Grids by SSP Scenarios, 2000-2100 1.00 MODELS Computer 2000-01-01 to 2100-12-31

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

0.008333 Decimal Degrees x 0.008333 Decimal Degrees GeoTIFF, netCDF-4
Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 2.1 2 TRMM, Terra, ERS-2 VIRS, MODIS, ATSR 1997-01-01 to 2005-12-31

N: 89.5 S: -89.5 E: 179.5 W: -179.5

multiple
Global Fire Emissions Indicators, Country-Level Tabular Data: 1997-2015 1.0 MODELS Computer 1997-01-01 to 2015-12-31

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

Excel
Global Fire Emissions Indicators, Grids: 1997-2015 1.0 MODELS Computer 1997-01-01 to 2015-12-31

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

30 Decimal Degrees x 30 Decimal Degrees GeoTIFF, PDF, PNG, WMS
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2010 North America product 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-7, DEM, LANDSAT-5 ETM+, TM 2008-01-01 to 2015-12-31

N: 90 S: -0.001078 E: 1.928773 W: -180

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2015 Africa 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, Sentinel-2A, DEM, LANDSAT-5 OLI, Sentinel-2 MSI, TM 2013-01-01 to 2016-06-30

N: 40.10861 S: -50.108476 E: 70.001218 W: -37

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2015 Australia, New Zealand, China, Mongolia 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-7, DEM, LANDSAT-5 OLI, ETM+, TM 2013-01-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 60.095406 S: -62 E: 180 W: 60

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2015 Europe, Central Asia, Russia, Middle East product 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-7, DEM, LANDSAT-5 OLI, ETM+, TM 2013-01-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 90 S: 0 E: 180 W: -180

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2015 South America product 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-7, DEM, LANDSAT-5 OLI, ETM+, TM 2013-01-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 15 S: -60 E: -20 W: -110

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2015 South Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran product 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-7, DEM, LANDSAT-5 OLI, ETM+, TM 2013-01-01 to 2016-06-30

N: 40.10861 S: -10.038404 E: 100.001086 W: 39.998656

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent 2015 Southeast and Northeast Asia product 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-7, DEM OLI, ETM+ 2013-01-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 60 S: -45 E: 180 W: 70

30 Meters x 30 Meters GeoTIFF
Global Food Security-support Analysis Data (GFSAD) Cropland Extent-Product 2015 Validation 30 m V001 001 LANDSAT-8, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-5, Sentinel-2A OLI, ETM+, TM, Sentinel-2 MSI 2008-01-01 to 2016-12-31

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

90 Meters x 90 Meters Shapefile
Global Mangrove Loss Extent, Land Cover Change, and Loss Drivers, 2000-2016 1 LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-8, COMPUTERS, LANDSAT-5 ETM+, OLI, Computer, TM 2000-01-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 27.0432 S: -58.4496 E: 164.691 W: -94.5607

multiple
Global Man-made Impervious Surface (GMIS) Dataset From Landsat 1.0 MODELS, LANDSAT Computer, TM, ETM+ 2010-01-01 to 2010-12-31

N: 82.78837 S: -58.349605 E: 180 W: -180

GeoTIFF, PDF, PNG, WMS
Global Monthly GPP from an Improved Light Use Efficiency Model, 1982-2016 1 METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS, MODELS EDDY CORRELATION DEVICES, MMS, Computer 1982-01-01 to 2017-01-01

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

netCDF-4 classic
Global One-Eighth Degree Urban Land Extent Projection and Base Year Grids by SSP Scenarios, 2000-2100 1.00 MODELS Computer 2000-01-01 to 2100-12-31

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

GeoTIFF, Grid, netCDF-4
Global Reservoir and Dam Database, Version 1 (GRanDv1): Dams, Revision 01 1.01 MODELS Computer 2011-01-01 to 2011-12-31

N: 70.4 S: -45.88 E: 176.82 W: -153.03

Shapefile, PDF, PNG, WMS
Global Reservoir and Dam Database, Version 1 (GRanDv1): Reservoirs, Revision 01 1.01 MODELS 2011-01-01 to 2011-12-31

N: 70.4 S: -45.88 E: 176.83 W: -153.04

Shapefile, PDF, PNG, WMS

Land Use/Land Cover Data Tools

Tool Sort descending 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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