Vegetation, Water and Climate Dynamics

Water bodies surrounded by land serve as sources of fresh drinking water, play host to millions of species of fish, underwater vegetation and wildlife and maintain the vibrancy of surrounding ecosystems. These water bodies can also be hubs for recreational activities such as boating, fishing, waterskiing, swimming that boost local economies.

A planet with limited water resources needs accurate, reliable and frequently-updated tools to measure water use and plan for future needs. Scientists at EROS harness the remote sensing capabilities of satellite data to offer powerful tools that resource managers across the United States can use to gain insight into the water use needs of agricultural land, forests, and public green spaces.

The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center National Land Cover Database team in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has produced the most comprehensive remote-sensing based quantification of western United States shrublands to date.

EROS, alongside the USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC), offers rapid delivery of satellite imagery in the form of Burned Area Reflectance Classifications (BARC) and other data to the Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program.

Wetlands purify and store our water, process carbon and nutrients and serve a crucial role in the life cycle of a wide range of flora and fauna. Wetland disturbance from urban development or agriculture can alter the natural flow of runoff and increase the risk for flooding.

USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center provide tools that allow user to view, search, query, download, and utilize onlne interfaces for available remote sensing and geospatial data.

Landsat Collection 1 Level- 3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) data contains an acquisition-based per-pixel snow cover fraction, an acquisition-based revised cloud mask for quality assessment, and a product metadata file. NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. Landsat Collection 2 remains available. Please access...

Landsat Collection 1 Level-3 Burned Area (BA) contains two acquisition-based raster data products that represent burn classification and burn probability. NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. Landsat Collection 2 remains available. Please access the Landsat Collection 2 webpage below for information about Collection...

Landsat Collection 1 Level-3 Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) contains six acquisition-based raster data products pertaining to the existence and condition of surface water, as well as all intermediate bands used to produce DSWE. NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. Landsat Collection 2 remains available. Please...

Phenology is the study of plant and animal life cycles in relation to the seasons. EROS maintains a set of nine annual phenological metrics for the conterminous United States, all curated from satellite data. Taken together, the metrics represent a powerful tool for documenting life cycle trends and the impacts of climate change on ecosystems.

Weekly VegDRI maps integrate remote sensing, climate, and biophysical data to provide timely drought information for the conterminous United States. (2009-present)

Weekly geospatial model and dataset that is an indicator of short-term dryness across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Quick Drought Response Index (QuickDRI) is designed to have improved sensitivity to early-stage drought conditions and rapidly evolving drought events.