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Landsat Maps Global Surface Water and its Long-Term Changes

A partnership between the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and Google Earth Engine has yielded a new online interactive mapping tool that highlights changes in Earth's surface water over the past 32 years. 

Return to Landsat In Action Overview 

 

The Global Surface Water Explorer, which consists of 3 million Landsat images collected over the last 32 years, shows that impacts on surface water occurrence can come from a variety of factors.

Brown Marsh in Southeast Louisiana

The information contained in this tool will improve additional surface modeling, help to mitigate flooding, and improve global policies and water-management decision making. The Global Surface Water Explorer tool is available to everyone at no charge.

Related Links:

European Commission Press Release

Research Article