Sensors on a suite of NASA satellites, combined with airborne platforms, in situ observations and models, provide measurements of biodiversity and environmental variables such as vegetation productivity, biomass, habitat suitability, land cover and land use change, aquatic ecology and human interactions with the environment. These long-term observations and models enable scientists to better understand Earth’s global biodiversity and how it is changing.
This toolkit is designed to support research into biodiversity by providing easy access to data and other resources on these topics:
Vegetation | Species Distribution | Human Dimensions | Habitat Suitability | Aquatic Ecology
Discover and Visualize Data
Vegetation
Vegetation is a primary component of terrestrial biodiversity, playing a critical role in the global energy budget and in many of our biogeochemical cycles. Maintaining species richness ensures the productivity and stability of ecosystem processes, making it critical to monitor vegetation health. Measurements are collected from various remotely sensed parameters, including vegetation indices (or greenness), leaf area, primary productivity, transpiration, canopy height, phenology, and biomass.
Vegetation Indices
- Discover Vegetation Indices Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Vegetation Indices in Worldview
- Vegetation Indices Data at NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
- Vegetation Indices Data at NASA's Oak Ridge National Laboratory DAAC (ORNL DAAC)
Leaf Area Index
- Discover Leaf Area index (LAI) Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize LAI in Worldview
- LAI Data at LP DAAC
- LAI Data at ORNL DAAC (filter by LAI)
Primary Productivity
- Discover Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize GPP in Worldview
- GPP Data at LP DAAC
- GPP Data at ORNL DAAC (filter by GPP)
Evapotranspiration/Evaporative Stress Index
- Discover Evapotranspiration Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Evapotranspiration in Worldview
- Evapotranspiration Data at LP DAAC
- Evapotranspiration Data at NASA's Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)
Canopy Height/Forest Structure
- Discover Canopy Height Data in Earthdata Search
- Discover Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Data in Earthdata Search
- Canopy Height Data at NASA's National Snow and Ice Data Center DAAC (NSIDC DAAC)
- Canopy Height Data at LP DAAC
- Canopy Height Data at ORNL DAAC (enter Canopy Height into search)
- SAR Data at NASA's Alaska Satellite Facility DAAC (ASF DAAC)
Phenology/Land Cover Dynamics
- Discover Phenology Data in Earthdata Search
- Phenology Data at LP DAAC
- Phenology Data at ORNL DAAC (filter by phenology)
Above Ground Biomass
Webinars
- Navigating LP DAAC to Find Answers to your Deepest Land Data Questions
- ECOSTRESS: NASA's Next-Generation Mission to Measure Evapotranspiration from the ISS
- Discover and Access SAR Data with ASF's Vertex: Better, Stronger, Faster
- NASA ORNL DAAC MODIS and VIIRS Data Tools and Services at your Fingertips
Data Recipes/Tutorials
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Vegetation Indices Data—All About Accessing Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Vegetation Indices Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Version 6 Vegetation Indices Data—Interpreting Quality Information
- Navigating the New LP DAAC Website: Searching for Data
- ECOSTRESS Swath to Grid Conversion Script
- Workshop for Accessing, Processing, and Analyzing ECOSTRESS Data
- Working with ECOSTRESS Evapotranspiration Data using Python
- Getting Started with VIIRS Surface Reflectance Data—All about Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with VIIRS Surface Reflectance Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Interpreting Quality Information
Species Distribution
Global biodiversity is threatened by climate change, human interactions with the environment, such as urbanization and habitat conversion, and other factors. Understanding the distribution and movement of species is therefore important for maintaining biodiversity and for protecting species. A combination of both remotely sensed Earth observation data, ground based observations, and model data can be used to determine individual species’ patterns of movement. These observations can help determine the number of species in a defined area (species richness) or assessments of terrestrial biomes in their contemporary, human-altered form (anthropogenic biomes).
Species Richness
- Discover Species Richness Grids in Earthdata Search
- Discover Global Amphibian Species Grids at NASA's Socioeconomic Data and Applications
- Center (SEDAC)
- Discover Global Mammal Richness Grids at SEDAC
- Visualize Species Richness in Worldview
Anthropogenic Biomes
- Discover Anthropogenic Biomes Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Anthropogenic Biomes in Worldview
- Discover Anthropogenic Biomes at SEDAC
Land Surface Reflectance
- Discover Land Surface Reflectance Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Land Surface Reflectance in Worldview
- Discover Surface Reflectance Data at LP DAAC
Webinars
Data Recipes/Tutorials
- Getting Started with VIIRS Surface Reflectance Data—All about Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with VIIRS Surface Reflectance Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Interpreting Quality Information
Human Dimensions
There are many causes of biodiversity loss, including deforestation, agricultural development, urbanization, pollution, and climate change. Understanding the ways in which humans are interacting with the environment, and how resulting changes impact Earth’s systems is important to preserving biodiversity.
Population
- Discover Population Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Population Data in Worldview
- Estimate Population in a User-Defined Area at SEDAC
- Discover Population Data at SEDAC
Biodiversity and Protected Areas
- Discover Human Footprint Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Human Footprint in Worldview
- Discover Biodiversity and Protected Areas Data at SEDAC
Environmental Sustainability and Trends
- Discover Environmental Indices in Earthdata Search
- Discover Environmental Sustainability Data at SEDAC
Nighttime Lights
Webinars
- Gridded Population and Settlement Data: An Introduction to the POPGRID Data Collaborative
- Mapping Global Urbanization from Landsat Data and High-Resolution Reference Data
- Remote Sensing Derived Environmental Indicators for Decision Making
Data Recipes/Tutorials
- How to use SEDAC’s Mapping Tool to Visualize Human Built-up and Settlement Extent (HBASE) and Global Man-made Impervious Surface (GMIS) Datasets
- Introduction to the SEDAC Population Estimation Service and Mapping Tool
Habitat Suitability
Habitat suitability serves as a proxy for species distribution. Models are used to estimate the potentiality of a habitat for a given species by integrating environmental variables, such as land cover type, temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, snow cover and topography, with species presence data.
Land Cover/Land Use
- Discover Land Cover/Use Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Land Cover Type in Worldview
- Discover Land Cover Data at LP DAAC
- Discover Land Use Data at ORNL DAAC
- Discover Land Use/Land Cover Change Data at SEDAC
Land Surface Temperature
- Discover Land Surface Temperature Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Land Surface Temperature in Worldview
- Discover Land Surface Temperature Data at LP DAAC
- Discover Land Surface Temperature at GES DISC
- Discover Daily Surface Weather Data at ORNL DAAC
Atmospheric Temperature
- Discover Surface Air Temperature in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Atmospheric Temperature in Worldview
- Discover Atmospheric Temperature Data at GES DISC
- Discover Daily Surface Weather Data at ORNL DAAC
Rain
- Discover Rain Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Rain Data in Worldview
- Discover Rain Data at GES DISC
- Discover Rain Data at NASA's Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center DAAC (GHRC DAAC)
Snow Cover
- Discover Snow Cover Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Snow Cover in Worldview
- Citizen Science on Snow
- Discover Snow Data at NSIDC DAAC
- Discover Hydrology and Cryosphere Data at ORNL DAAC
Soil Moisture
- Discover Soil Moisture Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Soil Moisture in Worldview
- Discover Soil Moisture Data at GES DISC
- Discover Soil Moisture Data at NSIDC DAAC
- Discover Soils Data at ORNL DAAC
- Discover Hydrology and Cryosphere Data at ORNL DAAC
Topography/Elevation
- Discover Topography Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Topography in Worldview
- Discover Land Surface Topography/Elevation Data at LP DAAC
- Discover SAR Data at ASF DAAC
Webinars
- Data Access and Visualization of Model Data at GES DISC
- NetCD-what? An Ecologist’s Guide to Working with Daymet and other NetCDF-formatted Data
- Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)
- Precipitation Products and Services at GES DISC
- NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission Data Products
Data Recipes/Tutorials
- Getting Started with VIIRS Surface Reflectance Data—All about Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with VIIRS Surface Reflectance Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Accessing the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with NASA MODIS Version 6 Surface Reflectance Data—Interpreting Quality Information
- Daymet Single Pixel Data Extraction—Web Services
- How to Import MERRA Surface Product Data into ArcGIS
- Getting Started with MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data—All About Accessing Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data—Using the Data
- Getting Started with MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data—Interpreting Quality Information
- Download and Visualize SMAP Data using Python
- Learn how to Search, Order, and Customize SMAP Data using Earthdata Search
Aquatic Ecology
Remote sensing data can be used to monitor the state of aquatic ecosystems from space. From algal bloom development to animal migrations, measurements such as chlorophyll concentration, sea surface temperature and salinity are useful for determining habitat suitability. These data can also be incorporated into ocean circulation models and biogeochemistry models to help forecast animal movement.
Ocean Color
- Discover Ocean Color Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Ocean Color in Worldview
- Discover Ocean Color Data at NASA's Ocean Biology DAAC (OB.DAAC)
- Discover Ocean Color Data at GES DISC
Ocean Temperature
- Discover Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize SST in Worldview
- Discover Ocean Temperature Data at NASA's Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC)
- Discover Ocean Temperature Data at GES DISC
Sea Surface Salinity
- Discover Sea Surface Salinity Data in Earthdata Search
- Visualize Sea Surface Salinity in Worldview
- Discover Sea Surface Salinity Data at PO.DAAC
Webinars
- Bio-Optical in situ Data Discovery and Access with the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS)
- Discover NASA Ocean Color Data, Services and Tools
- SeaWiFS Data Analysis System (SeaDAS) - Enabling the Study of our Planet from Space