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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 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
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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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
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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 Datasets

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Dataset Platforms Instruments Temporal Extent Location Keywords Spatial Extent Data Format
ABoVE: Burn Severity, Fire Progression, and Field Data, NWT, Canada, 2015-2016 FIELD SURVEYS, Aqua, Terra SOIL TEMPERATURE PROBE, SOIL MOISTURE PROBE, MODIS 2015-05-20 to 2016-08-08 N: 68.327 S: 59.927 E: -106.759 W: -135.543 CSV
ABoVE: Burn Severity, Fire Progression, Landcover and Field Data, NWT, Canada, 2014 Terra, FIELD SURVEYS, Aqua MODIS, SOIL MOISTURE PROBE, SOIL TEMPERATURE PROBE 1997-07-07 to 2015-07-15 N: 64.2509 S: 60.3334 E: -110.677 W: -121.604 multiple
ABoVE: Distribution Maps of Wildland Fire Fuel Components across Alaskan Tundra, 2015 LANDSAT-8 OLI 2013-01-01 to 2017-12-31 ALASKA, YUKON TERRITORY N: 72.5229 S: 57.3911 E: -132.487 W: -170.006 GeoTIFF
ABoVE: Ecosystem Map, Great Slave Lake Area, Northwest Territories, Canada, 1997-2011 MODELS, LANDSAT-5, WORLDVIEW-2, ALOS Computer, MSS, TM, WV110, PALSAR 1997-09-25 to 2011-09-14 NORTHWEST TERRITORIES N: 65.1494 S: 58.5141 E: -109.463 W: -123.036 multiple
ABoVE: Gridded 30-m Aboveground Biomass, Shrub Dominance, North Slope, AK, 2007-2016 LANDSAT-5, MODELS, FIELD SURVEYS, LANDSAT-7 TM, Computer, STEEL MEASURING TAPE, ETM+ 2007-06-01 to 2016-08-31 N: 76.226 S: 64.7265 E: -111.551 W: -168.576 multiple
ABoVE: Lake and Wetland Classification from L-band SAR, Alaska and Canada, 2017-2019 FIELD SURVEYS, UAV CAMERA, UAVSAR 2017-01-01 to 2019-09-19 NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, ALBERTA, ALASKA N: 67.909 S: 53.707 E: -107.864 W: -149.165 multiple
ABoVE: Landsat Tundra Greenness and Summer Air Temperatures, Arctic Tundra, 1985-2016 LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-8 TM, ETM+, OLI 1985-07-01 to 2016-08-31 ARCTIC N: 90 S: 31.49 E: 180 W: -180 multiple
ABoVE: Landsat Vegetation Greenness Trends, Boreal Forest Biome, 1985-2019 LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7, LANDSAT-8 TM, ETM+, OLI, TIRS 1985-01-01 to 2019-12-31 POLAR N: 72 S: 45 E: 180 W: -180 multiple
ABoVE: Landsat-derived Annual Disturbance Agents Across ABoVE Core Domain, 1987-2012 LANDSAT, LANDSAT-5 ETM+, TM 1985-01-01 to 2012-12-31 ALASKA, CANADA N: 75.6853 S: 50.259 E: -98.974 W: -169.96 multiple
ABoVE: Landsat-derived Annual Dominant Land Cover Across ABoVE Core Domain, 1984-2014 MODELS, LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-7 Computer, TM, ETM+ 1984-01-01 to 2014-12-31 CANADA, ALASKA N: 76.2257 S: 50.259 E: -98.974 W: -170.006 multiple
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