Vegetation Dynamics

An annual record of nine historical Remote Sensing Phenology metrics for the conterminous United States is available at a resolution of 375-m for products derived from eVIIRS data (2012-present).An annual record of nine historical Remote Sensing Phenology metrics for the conterminous United States is available at a resolution of 375-m for products derived from eVIIRS data (2012-present).An annual...

Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn what satellites can tell us about mangrove forests.

The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (eVIIRS) collection is based on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data acquired by the NPP, which is the result of a partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and...

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Irrigated Agriculture Dataset for the United States (MIrAD-US) suite of irrigation products was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. The goal of MIrAD is to provide a comprehensive and consistently processed geospatial dataset for irrigated agriculture across the conterminous...

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Irrigated Agriculture Dataset for the United States (MIrAD-US)

The EROS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (eMODIS) Land Surface Temperature (LST) collection is based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Earth Observing System (EOS). Note: The eMODIS datasets are no longer being produced after October 1st, 2022. These datasets will remain available...

The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center produces near-real-time estimates of annual herbaceous land cover for the Great Basin, Snake River Plain, Wyoming, and contiguous areas in the United States. Estimates are based on enhanced Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (eMODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data at 250-meter resolution.

Northern high-latitude regions are experiencing climate warming at rates nearly double that of lower latitudes, leading to warming and thawing of permafrost-affected soils, decomposition of previously frozen organic matter and increases in the number of large fire years, which can substantially impact social and environmental systems. Monitoring Arctic and boreal ecosystems of northern latitudes...

Evapotranspiration (ET) rates – the combination of evaporation from soil and transpiration from plants – are powerful tools in the management of scarce water resources.Taken alone, however, those rates leave unanswered questions about water sources, questions that can offer guidance and insight on challenging decisions in areas reliant on irrigation.Researchers at EROS work to offer that insight...

Demand for biofuel products is expected to increase as the world seeks alternatives to fossil fuels. Currently, ethanol produced from Midwest corn is the most common biofuel product in the United States. The negative environmental effects caused by corn-based biofuel development include soil erosion, water quality impairment from pesticides and fertilizer, and demand for water for irrigation. The...

Gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Re) are the fundamental environmental characteristics which drive carbon exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere (Chapin and others, 2009), although other exchanges of carbon, for example, export or direct oxidation (Lovett and others, 2006) can modify net ecosystem production (NEP).

Remotely-sensed data forms the backbone of the large-scale maps, models and assessments created at EROS to advance the understanding of Ecosystem Performance, Productivity and Sustainability.