NASA/USGS Data Products

The Landsat program is a joint NASA/USGS program that provides the longest continuous space-based record of Earth's land in existence.

  1. Geometry
    • Boundaries
    • Transportation
    • Structures
    • Hydrography
  2. Earth Observation
    • Land Cover
    • Elevation
    • Orthoimagery

Landsat 7 (launched April 15, 1999) has eight spectral bands with spatial resolutions ranging from 15 to 60 meters and temporal resolution of 16 days.

3D Elevation Program Products

3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Products:

  1. Bare earth DEM layers (avaiablity and resolution)
    • nationally seamless; 1/3 and 1 arc-second (~10m and 30m north-southwise);
    • parts of conterminous U.S.; 1/9 arc-second (~3.4m north-southwise), 1-meter;
    • Alaska only; 2 arc-second, 5-meter;
  2. LIDAR Point Cloud (LPC)
    • parts of US
  3. InSAR DSM and ORI
    • Alaska only

Land Cover Products

The USGS Land Cover Institute (LCI) serves domestic and international land cover data sets to facilitate land cover and land use science. For example, the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) classifies land cover consistently over the US in 21 categories with a resolution of 30 meters.

German Aerospace Center

The German Aerospace Center (DLR), the German counterpart of NASA, is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its research focuses on five domains: Aeronautics, Space, Energy, Transport, and Security. The Earth Observation Center (EOC) at DLR is allocated to the research domains of Space and Transportation.

Organizational Structure of DLR-EOC:

  1. German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD)
    1. Land Surface
    2. Atmosphere
    3. Geo-risks and Civil Security
    4. National Ground Segment
    5. International Ground Segment
    6. Information Technology
    7. Science Communication and Visualization
  2. Remote Sensing Technology Institute (IMF)
    1. Atmospheric Processors (ATP)
    2. Photogrammetry and Image Analysis (PBA)
    3. Synthetic Aperture Radar Signal Processing (SAR)
    4. Experimental Methods (EXV)
    5. The Controlling department (EOC-CON)

DFD is predominantly active in the Space - Earth Observation program at DLR, while IMF also receives funding from the Transportation and Aeronautics programs. DFD concentrates on developing applications and services, whereas IMF focuses mainly on image and radar data processing methodologies.

TanDEM-X and WorldDEM

Global Urban Footprint (GUF):

  • 3 m resolution of original TanDEM-X SAR data (2011-2013);
  • ~12 m (0.4 arcsec) resolution for scientific use, binary settlement mask;
  • ~84 m (2.8 arcsec) resolution for non-profit use, planned release of validated GUF in 2015.

The WorldDEM is the global digital elevation models generated by DLR's TanDEM-X satellite mission. The two SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth observation satellites in the mission, TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, are closely controlled in a formation with typical distances between 250 and 500 m.

Available from 2014, WorldDEM features a vertical accuracy of 2m (relative) / 4m (absolute) in a 12m x 12m raster, consistently covering the Earth’s entire land surface.

The resolution of WorldDEM is unprecedented among global satellite-based DEMs, corresponding to DTED (Digital Terrain Elevation Data) Level 3, i.e. post spacing of better than 12 meters.

Group on Earth Observations

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a global voluntary partnership of member governments and participating organizations, aimed at constructing a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of Earth observation data and decision-support tools with the end users of these products.

GEO facilitate access to earth observation data in nine priority areas:

  1. natural and human-induced DISASTERS,
  2. environmental sources of HEALTH hazards,
  3. ENERGY management,
  4. CLIMATE change and its impacts,
  5. FRESHWATER resources,
  6. WEATHER forecasting,
  7. ECOSYSTEM management,
  8. sustainable AGRICULTURE,
  9. BIODIVERSITY conservation.

Related initiatives: INSPIRE geoportal