Biosphere Data Access and Tools

NASA biosphere data range from surface reflectance data useful for measuring the greenness of vegetation to measurements of nighttime lights that disrupt the behaviors of wildlife. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Dataset	Geographic Region	Temporal Extent	Data Format	Potential Application Areas	Related Subtopics
ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Level 1 ScanSAR Product	Global	2014-08-01 to Present		Wide-area monitoring of land surface changes Regional vegetation and forest monitoring Large wetland area mapping and monitoring Continental-scale land use change detection Regional soil moisture assessment Broad geological feature identification	ecosystems, vegetation
ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data V006	Global	2018-10-13 to Present	HDF5	Vegetation structure analysis High-precision elevation measurement Ground truth for other elevation datasets Fine-scale topographic change detection	vegetation
ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land and Vegetation Height V006	Global	2018-10-14 to Present	HDF5	Precise forest canopy height mapping Biomass estimation and carbon stock assessment Habitat structure characterization Forest degradation and regrowth monitoring Urban tree canopy assessment Forest inventory support Vegetation structure biodiversity studies	vegetation
Daymet: Annual Climate Summaries on a 1-km Grid for North America, Version 4 R1	North America, Atlantic Ocean	1950-01-01 to 2023-12-31	GeoTiff	Ecological research on climate impacts Forest management and planning Wildlife habitat suitability modeling Disease vector habitat potential mapping Natural resource conservation planning	ecosystem, vegetation
ECOSTRESS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Daily L2 Global 70m V001	Global Land	2018-07-09 to 2025-01-06	HDF5	Plant water stress detection at field scale High-resolution thermal mapping Microclimate analysis in complex landscapes Ecosystem function monitoring	vegetation
ECOSTRESS Tiled Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Instantaneous L2 Global 70 m	Global Land	2018-07-09 to Present	Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG)	Plant water stress monitoring Ecosystem thermodynamics research Environmental temperature extremes monitoring	vegetation
GEDI L2A Elevation and Height Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002	Global Land	2019-04-04 to 2023-03-16 2024-04-04 to Present	HDF5	Forest canopy structure characterization Biomass estimation for carbon accounting Biodiversity habitat structure assessment Ecosystem structure monitoring Terrain model refinement under vegetation Carbon sequestration potential assessment	ecological dynamics, vegetation
GEDI L4A Footprint Level Aboveground Biomass Density, Version 2.1	Global	2019-04-17 to 2024-11-27	HDF5	Carbon stock assessment in forests Forest management planning Biodiversity habitat structure analysis Sustainable forestry certification support Forest degradation assessment Ecosystem service valuation	ecosystems, terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation
GEDI L4C Footprint Level Waveform Structural Complexity Index, Version 2	Global	2019-04-17 to 2023-03-16	Binary	Habitat complexity analysis for biodiversity Old-growth forest identification Forest succession stage mapping Wildlife habitat quality assessment Forest management impact evaluation Forest restoration planning Canopy architecture research	ecosystems, terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation
Global Aboveground and Belowground Biomass Carbon Density Maps for the Year 2010	Global Land	2010-01-01 to 2010-12-31	GeoTIFF	Global carbon stock accounting Forest conservation priority setting Carbon offset project development Ecosystem service valuation Land use policy development Biodiversity conservation planning	ecosystems, ecological dynamics, vegetation
HLS Landsat Operational Land Imager Surface Reflectance and TOA Brightness Daily Global 30m v2.0	Global	2013-04-11 to Present	Cloud Optimized GeoTiff (COG)	Land cover and land use change monitoring Forest disturbance detection Ecosystem service assessment Environmental impact monitoring	vegetation
HLS Sentinel-2 Multi-spectral Instrument Surface Reflectance Daily Global 30m v2.0	Global	2013-04-11 to Present	Cloud Optimized GeoTiff (COG)	High temporal frequency vegetation monitoring Forest health assessment Biodiversity and habitat monitoring	vegetation
MAIAC Daily V01	Global	2015-06-13 to Present	PNG	Enhanced retrieval of surface reflectance for vegetation studies	vegetation
MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1 km SIN Grid	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF-EOS2	Climate model validation for land surface processes Wildlife habitat thermal condition assessment Land surface process energy balance studies	ecological dynamics
MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance Daily L2G Global 250m SIN Grid V061	Global	2000-02-24 to Present	HDF-EOS2	Vegetation condition monitoring Land cover change detection Drought impact evaluation on vegetation	vegetation
SENTINEL-1A_SLC	Global	2014-04-03 to Present		Interferometric analysis for surface deformation detection Coherence-based change detection Phase-based classification of land cover Development of advanced SAR processing algorithms Time-series analysis for subtle change detection	terrestrial ecosystems
SENTINEL-1B_DUAL_POL_GRD_HIGH_RES	Global	2016-04-25 to 2021-12-24		Forest disturbance monitoring Land subsidence detection in urban areas	terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation
SENTINEL-1B_SLC	Global	2016-04-25 to 2021-12-24		Complex coherence analysis for vegetation structure Time-series analysis for seasonal change patterns	terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation
VIIRS/JPSS1 Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Day V002	Global	2018-01-01 to Present	HDF-EOS5	Daily thermal environment monitoring Ecological habitat thermal characterization	ecological dynamics
VIIRS/NPP Burned Area Monthly L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V002	Global	2012-03-01 to Present	HDF-EOS5	Ecosystem disturbance tracking Protected area management Forest management and restoration planning Biodiversity impact assessment after fires	ecological dynamics, vegetation
VIIRS/JPSS1 Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1 km SIN Grid Day	Global	2018-01-01 to Present	HDF-EOS5	Climate change impact studies on land surface Wildlife habitat thermal condition assessment	ecological dynamics

Biosphere Datasets

View All Datasets

Filters

Dataset Sort descending	Version	Platform	Instrument	Temporal Extent	Spatial Extent	Data Format
NACP Forest Age Maps at 1-km Resolution for Canada (2004) and the U.S.A. (2006)	1	LANDSAT-7	ETM+, TM	1950-01-01 to 2006-12-31	N: 67.008 S: 7.7126 E: -39.866 W: 179.251	multiple
NACP: Forest Carbon Stocks, Fluxes and Productivity Estimates, Western USA, 1979-2099	1	MODELS	Computer	1979-01-01 to 2099-12-31	N: 49.0351 S: 31.1875 E: -101.961 W: -124.812	netCDF-4 classic
NACP Integrated Wildland and Cropland 30-m Fuel Characteristics Map, U.S.A., 2010	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	2010-01-01 to 2010-12-31	N: 49.79 S: 26.52 E: -67.96 W: -126.46	BigTIFF
NACP LiDAR-based Biomass Estimates, Boreal Forest Biome, North America, 2005-2006	1	SATELLITES	LIDAR	2005-06-08 to 2006-06-26	N: 69 S: 44.5134 E: -53 W: -165	multiple
NACP MCI: CO2 Emissions Inventory, Upper Midwest Region, USA., 2007	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	2007-01-01 to 2007-12-31	N: 50 S: 36 E: -81 W: -105	multiple
NACP MCI: Cropland Productivity and Biophysical Properties, Nebraska, USA, 2001-2008	1	FIELD INVESTIGATION, FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS	LICOR LEAF AREA METER, RADIOMETERS, LICOR QUANTUM SENSOR	2001-06-12 to 2008-08-15	N: 41.1797 S: 41.1797 E: -96.4397 W: -96.4766	CSV
NACP: MODIS Daily Land Incident 4-km PAR Images For North America, 2003-2005	1	Aqua, Terra	MODIS	2003-01-01 to 2005-12-31	N: 90 S: 0 E: 0 W: -180	multiple
NACP MsTMIP: Global 0.5-degree Model Outputs in Standard Format, Version 0.5	.5	MODELS	Computer	1900-01-01 to 2010-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	netCDF-4 classic
NACP MsTMIP: Global 0.5-degree Model Outputs in Standard Format, Version 1.0	1	MODELS	Computer	1900-01-01 to 2010-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	netCDF-4 classic
NACP MsTMIP: Global and North American Driver Data for Multi-Model Intercomparison	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1700-01-01 to 2010-12-31	N: 89.75 S: -78.25 E: 179.95 W: -178.75	netCDF-4 classic
NACP MsTMIP Summary of Model Structure and Characteristics	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1801-01-01 to 2010-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180	CSV
NACP NAFD Project: Forest Disturbance History from Landsat, 1986-2010	1	LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7	MSS, ETM+	1986-01-01 to 2010-12-31	N: 51.6785 S: 22.6912 E: -65.2026 W: -128.029	GeoTIFF
NACP NAFD Project: Forest Disturbance Intensity for CONUS from Landsat, 1986-2015	1	LANDSAT	MULTI-SPECTRAL	1986-01-01 to 2015-12-31	N: 51.68 S: 22.69 E: -65.2 W: -128.03	COG
NACP New England and Sierra National Forests Biophysical Measurements: 2008-2010	1	FIELD SURVEYS	STEEL MEASURING TAPE	2008-07-16 to 2010-08-31	N: 45.2088 S: 36.961 E: -68.5847 W: -119.249	CSV
NACP North American 8-km Net Ecosystem Exchange and Component Fluxes, 2004	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	2004-01-01 to 2004-12-31	N: 90 S: 2.736 E: -34.113 W: -179.553	Binary
NACP North American Forest Dynamics Project: Forest Disturbance and Regrowth Data	1	LANDSAT-5	MSS	1984-06-04 to 2009-09-16	N: 49.7924 S: 26.5202 E: -67.9596 W: -126.458	GeoTIFF
NACP Peatland Land Cover Map of Upper Peninsula, Michigan, 2007-2011	1	ALOS, LANDSAT-5	PALSAR	2007-03-01 to 2011-10-01	N: 48.7456 S: 44.5422 E: -82.2881 W: -91.0847	GeoTIFF
NACP Peatland Landcover Type and Wildfire Burn Severity Maps, Alberta, Canada	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	2010-06-17 to 2013-07-22	N: 57.2062 S: 56.9053 E: -110.286 W: -114.901	multiple
NACP Regional: Gridded 1-deg Observation Data and Biosphere and Inverse Model Outputs	1	Terra, Aqua	MODIS	1990-01-01 to 2007-12-31	N: 84 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	Shapefile
NACP Regional: National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Aggregated Gridded Model Data	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	2000-01-01 to 2007-12-31	N: 84 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	multiple
NACP Regional: Original Observation Data and Biosphere and Inverse Model Outputs	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1990-01-01 to 2008-12-31	N: 84 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	multiple
NACP Regional: Supplemental Gridded Observations, Biosphere and Inverse Model Outputs	1	Terra, Aqua	MODIS	1990-01-01 to 2008-12-31	N: 84 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	Shapefile
NACP Site: Terrestrial Biosphere Model and Aggregated Flux Data in Standard Format	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1998-01-01 to 2007-12-31	N: 84 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	Shapefile
NACP Site: Terrestrial Biosphere Model Output Data in Original Format	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1990-01-01 to 2007-12-31	N: 84 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	Shapefile
NACP Soil Organic Matter of Burned Boreal Black Spruce Forests, Alaska, 2009-2011	1	FIELD SURVEYS		2009-08-01 to 2011-08-02	N: 65.7019 S: 63.8201 E: -141.418 W: -149.193	CSV

Biosphere Data Tools

View All Data Tools

Tool Sort descending	Description	Services
TESViS	The Terrestrial Ecology Subsetting & Visualization Services Global Subsets Tool provides on-demand, customized subsets of several terrestrial ecology data products.	Visualization, Subsetting
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

SHOWING 4 OF 14

Items

QUESTIONS & SUPPORT

Have a question?

Get help with NASA Earth science data, datasets, tools, services, and metadata on the Earthdata Forum. Experienced staff in the data user community review and answer questions.

Get help on Earthdata Forum

Earthdata
Forum

Biosphere Data Access and Tools

Commonly Used Datasets for Applications in the Biosphere

Biosphere Datasets

Biosphere Data Tools

Get Help