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Description

The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) mission measures the temperature of plants to better understand how much water plants need and how they respond to stress. ECOSTRESS is attached to the International Space Station (ISS) and collects data globally between 52° N and 52° S latitudes.

The ECOSTRESS Tiled NDVI and Albedo Instantaneous Level 2 Global 70 m (ECO_L2T_STARS) Version 3 data product provides Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and broadband shortwave albedo aligned with each daytime ECOSTRESS overpass. ECO_L2T_STARS is an ancillary data product derived from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) Version 2 data sources with application to the ECOSTRESS mission. This data product fuses fine resolution inputs from HLS surface reflectance products and moderate resolution inputs from the daily NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) VIIRS surface reflectance (VNP09GA) product. The data fusion is performed using a variant of the Spatial Timeseries for Automated high-Resolution multi-Sensor data fusion (STARS) algorithm to create tiles matching the ECOSTRESS standard resolution of 70 meters (m). STARS is a Bayesian timeseries methodology that provides streaming data fusion and uncertainty quantification through efficient Kalman filtering. Refer to Section 3 of the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) for further details of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) implementation and albedo calculations.

The ECO_L2T_STARS Version 3 data product is provided in Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) format using a modified version of the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), which divides Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zones into square tiles that are 109.8 km by 109.8 km with a 70 m spatial resolution. Each variable is distributed as a separate COG. This product contains eight variables including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index estimates, Broadband shortwave albedo estimates, Uncertainty, and Bias Correction. The ECO_L2T_STARS ancillary NDVI and albedo product is only generated for corresponding daytime ECOSTRESS Tiled Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Instantaneous L2 Global 70 m (ECO_L2T_LSTE) Version 3 tiles.

Known Issues

  • Solar Array Obstruction: Some ECOSTRESS scenes may be affected by solar array obstructions from the ISS, potentially impacting data quality in obstructed pixels. The 'FieldOfViewObstruction' metadata field is reliably populated and accurate for all products generated on or after October 2024, following fixes to the PGE docker configuration and updates to the L1A_RAW_PIX software. Prior to October 2024, the field was not reliably populated; a separate list of confirmed affected scenes was maintained and is recommended for verifying historical data.
  • Historical acquisition gaps and anomalies (2018–2023): Irrecoverable data loss occurred due to Mass Storage Unit (MSU) failures, resulting in permanent gaps in the observational record where no ECOSTRESS data was acquired. Other early issues, including band 4 striping (Feb 2020), 3-band TES mode limitations (May 2019–April 2023), and noisy data periods (e.g., May–July 2025), have been mitigated through reprocessing, firmware updates, and instrument recovery. Version 3 products incorporate these improvements where data exists and are unaffected by ongoing issues, but the permanent historical gaps remain, and caution is advised for time-series analyses spanning affected periods.
  • Product formats: Version 3 discontinues swath-based (non-gridded) HDF5 products for Level 2 LST&E and Cloud outputs. Only gridded (ECO_L2G_LSTE and ECO_L2G_CLOUD in HDF5) and tiled (ECO_L2T_LSTE in Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF) formats are available for Level 2 products. Swath-based products remain available for Level 1 products (e.g., ECO_L1B_RAD, ECO_L1B_GEO). Version 3 discontinues HDF5 products for Level 2 STARS, Level 3 Evapotranspiration, and Level 4 Evaporative Stress Index, and Water Use Efficiency outputs. Only tiled (Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF) formats remain available for these products. Users transitioning from Version 2 should verify compatibility with the new structures.
  • Geolocation considerations: While geolocation is improved in Collection 3 tiled products (fixed MGRS grid), gridded products may reference legacy "GeolocationAccuracyQA" flags. Use "best" and "good" scenes for applications sensitive to precise positioning

Version Description

The following major changes and improvements were implemented for the ECOSTRESS Version 3 L2 STARS data product: (1) The addition of new bias correction layers (NDVI-bias and albedo-bias) along with associated uncertainty estimates (NDVI-bias-UQ and albedo-bias-UQ), which quantify and mitigate systematic differences between the input sensors. Combined with the standard uncertainty layers (NDVI-UQ and albedo-UQ), these enable more robust quality assessment, improved bias mitigation, and reduced artifacts in the daily gap-filled NDVI and albedo outputs.

Product Summary

Platforms
ISS ,
Suomi-NPP ,
Sentinel-2A ,
Sentinel-2B ,
LANDSAT-8 ,
LANDSAT-9
Instruments
ECOSTRESS ,
VIIRS ,
Sentinel-2 MSI ,
OLI
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
70 Meters x 70 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
UTM
Location
GLOBAL LAND
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2018-07-09 to Present
Temporal Resolution
Varies
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/ECOSTRESS)
Concept ID
C3998139658-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
72028
Processing Level
2
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Land Surface Temperature ,
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) ,
Albedo

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Hook, S., & Hulley, G. (2026). ECOSTRESS Tiled Ancillary NDVI and Albedo L2 Global 70 m v003 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ECOSTRESS/ECO_L2T_STARS.003 Date Accessed: 2026-04-26

File Naming Convention

ECOv003_L2T_STARS_43QHV_20260215_02_NDVI.tif

The file name begins with the Sensor (ECOSTRESS) followed by the Processing Level and Type (L2T), Geophysical Parameter (STARS), MGRS Tile ID (43QHV), Acquisition Date and Time designated as YYYYMMDD (20260215), Product Iteration Number (02), and the Layer Name (NDVI) followed by the Data Format (tif). Separate files are provided for each layer.

Documents

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Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
albedo Broadband Shortwave Albedo N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
albedo-bias Albedo Bias Correction N/A float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
albedo-bias-UQ Albedo Bias Correction Uncertainty N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
albedo-flag Surface water body mask N/A int32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
albedo-UQ Albedo One-sigma Uncertainty N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index N/A float32 N/A -1 to 1 N/A N/A
NDVI-bias NDVI Bias Correction N/A float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
NDVI-bias-UQ NDVI Bias Correction Uncertainty N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
NDVI-flag Cloud detection mask N/A int32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
NDVI-UQ NDVI One-sigma Uncertainty N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
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