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.
Sub-categories
Climate datasets

Years of record
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A set of three estimates of land-cover types and annual transformations of land use are provided on a global 0.5°x0.5° grid at annual timesteps. The longest of…
Main variables and Earth System components
Land Land Cover Type Land Use Conversion Vegetation CoverExperts contributing reviews
- Meiyappan, Prasanth

Years of record
- to
Annual net land-atmosphere carbon flux and net flux of carbon to the atmosphere due to land-use and land-use change (LULUC) are estimated using an integrated…
Main variables and Earth System components
Biosphere CO2 Land CO2 Land-Atmosphere flux Land Cover Type Land Use ConversionExperts contributing reviews
- Meiyappan, Prasanth

Years of record
- N/A
Soil moisture is a state variable of the land that crosses the interfaces of several disciplines, including meteorology, hydrology, climatology and ecology. Soil…
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Formats
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Timestep
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Domain
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Collections
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- Dirmeyer, Paul

Years of record
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A global data set of the frozen state of the land surface (free-thaw (FT) status) has been developed spanning 1979-present at a daily timestep and 25 x 25 km…
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Timestep
- Daily
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Climate Data Record
Experts contributing reviews
- Kimball, John

Years of record
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The Snow Cover Extent Climate Data Record extends from the late 1960s to present. Historical analyses based on visual inspection have been digitized and combined…
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Timestep
- Monthly, Weekly
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Domain
- North America
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Collections
- Climate Data Record, Diagnostic Data Sets, NCAR-DOE-CESM, landdiagnostics
Experts contributing reviews
- Estilow, Thomas W. | Robinson, David

Years of record
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"The Landsat Program provides the longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence. Since 1972, Landsat satellites have collected measurements…
Main variables and Earth System components
Biosphere NPP: Net Primary Production Land Land Cover Type Vegetation Cover-
Formats
- N/A
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Timestep
- Sub-daily
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Domain
- Global
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Collections
- Carbon cycle
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A

Years of record
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The International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP) defines ecosystems surface classifications. The CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System)10-minute…
Experts contributing reviews
- N/A

Years of record
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The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (CEI) was first presented in 1995 as a framework for quantifying observed changes in climate within the contiguous United States…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Air Temperature Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Precipitation Wind Land Drought-
Formats
- ascii
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Timestep
- Monthly, Seasonal, Annual
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Domain
- North America
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Collections
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- Gleason, Karin

Years of record
- N/A
This data set contains a global (excluding Antarctica) 1 km map of permafrost zonation. It is an estimate of to what degree permafrost exists in a region nearly…
Experts contributing reviews
- Gruber, Stephan

Years of record
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Tree-ring drought atlases provide a paleoclimate analog to modern drought indices, most commonly the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). Produced on a regular…
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Timestep
- Annual
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Domain
- North America
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Collections
- N/A
Experts contributing reviews
- Cook, Edward

Years of record
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GHCNDEX provides gridded, station-based indices of temperature- and precipitation- related climate extremes. It is intended for climate change detection and…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Land Freeze/ThawExperts contributing reviews
- N/A

Years of record
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HadEX2 provides gridded, station-based indices of temperature- and precipitation- related climate extremes. It is intended for climate change detection and…
Main variables and Earth System components
Atmosphere Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Land Freeze/ThawExperts contributing reviews
- N/A