Land

Important land variables include soil moisture, vegetation coverage, surface radiation budgets and more. Overview pages summarize and compare selected datasets of a given variable.

To find a specific dataset or variable, jump to the search box below or click your desired variable from among the blue sub-category buttons.

To see only the datasets accompanied by expert commentaries, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.

Climate datasets

Has expert guidance
GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment: Surface mass, total water storage, and derived variables GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment: Surface mass, total water storage, and derived variables

  • Years of Record

  • 2002-01 to 2012-09

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) refers to a pair of NASA satellites that has flown in low-Earth orbit since 2002. The satellites use a precise microwave…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Glaciers Ice Sheet Mass Land Groundwater surface water Water Storage Ocean Bottom pressure
Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)

  • Years of Record

  • 1949-01 to 2018-07

The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is a widely used index to characterize meteorological drought on a range of timescales. On short timescales, the SPI is closely…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Precipitation Land Drought

    • Formats

    • N/A

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Domain

    • N/A

    • Collections

    • N/A
Soil Moisture Data Sets: Overview & Comparison Tables Soil Moisture Data Sets: Overview & Comparison Tables

  • Years of Record

Soil moisture is a state variable of the land that crosses the interfaces of several disciplines, including meteorology, hydrology, climatology and ecology. Soil moisture…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Soil Moisture
GloLAKES Global Coverage Lake Water Storage: GloLakes

  • Years of Record

  • 1984-01 to 2025-01

Lakes and reservoirs are critical components of the hydrological cycle, particularly due to their central role in many human systems. Long-term measurements of lakes is…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Water Storage

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • N/A
Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI)

  • Years of Record

The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) uses readily available temperature and precipitation data to estimate relative dryness. It is a standardized index that generally…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Drought