CERES: IGBP Land Classification

CERES: IGBP Land Classification

The International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP) defines ecosystems surface classifications. The CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System)10-minute data can be used to derive the land categories. 

Please cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions
Dataset DOIs
None
Hosted Climate Index Files
None
Data Access
  1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory THREDDS Data Server
Usage Restrictions
None

Cite this page

Acknowledgement of any material taken from or knowledge gained from this page is appreciated:

National Center for Atmospheric Research Staff (Eds). Last modified "The Climate Data Guide: CERES: IGBP Land Classification.” Retrieved from https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/ceres-igbp-land-classification on 2025-07-19.


Citation of datasets is separate and should be done according to the data providers' instructions. If known to us, data citation instructions are given in the Data Access section, above.


Acknowledgement of the Climate Data Guide project is also appreciated:

Schneider, D. P., C. Deser, J. Fasullo, and K. E. Trenberth, 2013: Climate Data Guide Spurs Discovery and Understanding. Eos Trans. AGU, 94, 121–122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013eo130001

Key Figures

CERES land classification from IGBPa_1198.map.nc. Surface types 1 - 17 correspond to those defined by IGBP (International Geosphere Biosphere Programme). The last 3 surface types were defined for CERES. Surface type 18, Tundra; Fresh snow, number 19, and sea ice, number 20 are not permanent surface types. They are obtained daily from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The IGBP surface type for snow and ice number 15, is for permanent snow and ice. (Climate Data Guide; D. Shea)

Land-sea mask ( IGBPa_1198.map ). [Climate Data Guide; D. Shea]

Other Information

Earth system components and main variables
Land, Land Cover Type, Vegetation Cover
Type of data product
Satellite Data Products, Platforms, Aqua, CERES
Dataset collections
None

Years of record
None
Metadata ID
None
Data time period extended
None
Timestep
Climatology
Domain
Global
Formats:
binary, netCDF
Input Data
None
Vertical Levels:
Surface Data Set
Missing Data Flag
Spatially complete
Ocean or Land
Ocean & Land
Spatial Resolution

1080 x 2160 (1/6 degree equal angle)

Model Resolution (reanalysis)
None
Data Assimilation Method
None
Model Vintage (reanalysis)
None

Key Publications
  1. IGBP, 1990, The International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme: a study of global change— the initial core project. IGBP Global Change Report no. 12, International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme, Stockholm, Sweden.
  2. IGBP, 1992, Improved Global Data for Land Applications, edited by J. R. G. Townshend. IGBP Global Change Report no. 20, International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme, Stockholm, Sweden.
  3. Wickland, Diane E. 1991. Mission to Planet Earth: The Ecological Perspective. Ecology 72:1923–1933