The ORNL DAAC announces the release of four data sets within the vegetation category of the International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project Initiative II (ISLSCP II).
Three of these data sets provide Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data. The two FASIR (Fourier-Adjusted, Sensor and Solar zenith angle corrected, Interpolated, Reconstructed) adjusted NDVI data sets provide a 17-year satellite record of monthly changes in the photosynthetic activity of terrestrial vegetation and derived biophysical parameter fields, while the GIMMS (Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Guides) NDVI data set provides a 22-year satellite record of monthly changes in terrestrial vegetation.
- ISLSCP II FASIR-adjusted NDVI, 1982-1998. Data set prepared by Sietse O. Los.
- ISLSCP II FASIR-adjusted NDVI Biophysical Parameter Fields, 1982-1998. Data set prepared by Sietse O. Los.
- ISLSCP II GIMMS Monthly NDVI, 1981-2002. Data set prepared by Jorge E. Pinzon, Compton Tucker, and Molly Brown.
The fourth data set contains Leaf Area Index (LAI) data compiled from more than 300 sources for the time peroid 1932 through 2000, to support model development and validation of the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. Although the majority of measurements are from natural or semi-natural ecosystems, some LAI values have been included from crops.
- ISLSCP II Leaf Area Index (LAI) from Field Measurements, 1932-2000. Data set prepared by Jonathan Scurlock, Gregory Asner, and Tom Gower.
The ISLSCP Initiative II data collection is designed to support modeling studies of the global carbon, water and energy cycle. This data collection contains 50 global time series spanning the ten-year period 1986 to 1995 compiled under the guidance of Forrest Hall and colleagues at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The data for Initiative II were acquired from a number of U.S. and international agencies, universities, and institutions, then co-registered to equal-angle grids of one degree, one-half and one-quarter degree resolution and reformatted into a common ASCII format.
The collection includes a variety of remotely sensed data sets ranging from visible to microwave wavelengths. The data sets also include improved topography, surface radiation, near-surface meteorology, precipitation, runoff, soils, and vegetation data sets that can be used in a variety of interdisciplinary research activities. Several data sets to support global carbon and biogeochemical studies are also provided.
The ORNL DAAC is a NASA-funded data center archiving and distributing terrestrial ecology and biogeochemical dynamics data.