NASA’S Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) manages, archives and distributes Earth Observing data and imagery on a daily basis. The following are links to the data that are routinely available from EOSDIS and relate to the Nepalese region affected by the earthquake on April 25, 2015 and aftershocks. The ability to discover, access and obtain these data is being facilitated by several of the discipline-specific EOSDIS Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) and select global data access and visualization tools.
View global near real-time satellite data and imagery for the Nepalese region through NASA's Worldview tool beginning on April 25, 2015. Multiple data layers including population can be selected: http://go.nasa.gov/1PrLo3p
Data and imagery are available at the following DAACs:
- NASA's Alaska Satellite Facility DAAC (ASF DAAC) is providing access to Sentinel-1A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and imagery.
- Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data is available and downloadable through NASA Worldview at Worldview. NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) system provides MODIS Rapid Response imagery for the Nepal geographical subset at: http://lance-modis.eosdis.nasa.gov/imagery/subsets/?subset=Nepal.
- NASA's Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System DAAC (LAADS DAAC) is providing access to Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band imagery. Of particular use may be the night time imagery. Download data here: https://ladsweb.nascom.nasa.gov/
- NASA's Land Processes DAAC (LP DAAC) is providing access to the higher-resolution (30 meter) Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer (ASTER) expedited imagery starting 29 April 2015. Download data here, starting 29 April 2015: https://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/data.asp . The instrument is currently tasked to retrieve data for the area on April 29, May 3, 6, 8, and 10.
- LP DAAC also provides ASTER data to the US Geological Survey (USGS) Hazard Data Distribution System (HDDS). View and download data from the HDDS Explorer: http://hddsexplorer.usgs.gov/. Select the “Events” tab, “2015 Event”à “201504_Earthquake_NPL”
- NASA's Socioeconomic Data Applications Center (SEDAC) has several socioeconomic data sets which could be combined with the remotely sensed data to provide information such as population density, etc. (http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/sets/browse?contains=nepal)
- Population (Year 2000, Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project v1): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/gpw-v3-population-density
- Future estimates of population (2005, 2010 and 2015 Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project v1): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/gpw-v3-population-count-future-estimates
- Population Estimation Service, based on the 2005 Gridded Population of the World v3 dataset: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/tools/population-estimation-mapclient
- Global Roads Open Access Data Set (gROADS): http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/groads-global-roads-open-access-v1
- Global Earthquake Proportional Economic Risk Deciles: http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/ndh-earthquake-proportional-economic-loss-risk-deciles
For more information, see the following NASA Earth Observatory articles
Elusive Earthquake Imagery: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2015/04/29/elusive-earthquake-imagery/
Power outages plague Nepal: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=85816
Landslide in Langtang Valley: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=85812