Full catalog/EMITL2BMIN
EMITL2BMIN·v001·dataset

Surface minerals identified from space (EMIT, 60 m)

EMIT L2B Estimated Mineral Identification and Band Depth and Uncertainty 60 m V001
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 2B active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Which minerals are sitting on the ground surface in dry, dusty regions, and how strong each mineral's spectral fingerprint is, mapped pixel by pixel at 60 meters along with how confident each identification is.

How it's made. Generated from the EMIT imaging spectrometer on the International Space Station, which splits sunlight reflected off the surface into fine detail; this version is delivered in a raw, not-yet-geographically-straightened form.

How & where you'd use it. Helps scientists understand the makeup of the world's dust source regions, which matters for how airborne dust affects climate, air quality, and ecosystems.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SOILS › SOIL CHEMISTRYSOLID EARTH › ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS › MINERALS › MINERAL VERTICAL/GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2022-08-09 → ongoing
  • Measured byISS (EMIT Imaging Spectrometer)
  • Processing levelLevel 2B
  • Spatial extent-180, -54, 180, 54
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) instrument measures surface mineralogy, targeting the Earth’s arid dust source regions. EMIT is installed on the International Space Station (ISS) and uses imaging spectroscopy to take mineralogical measurements of the sunlit regions of interest between 52° N latitude and 52° S latitude. An interactive map showing the regions being investigated, current and forecasted data coverage, and additional data resources can be found on the VSWIR Imaging Spectroscopy Interface for Open Science (VISIONS) [EMIT Open Data Portal](https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/emit/data/data-portal/coverage-and-forecasts/). The EMIT Level 2B Estimated Mineral Identification and Band Depth and Uncertainty (EMITL2BMIN) Version 1 data product provides estimated mineral identification and band depths in a spatially raw, non-orthocorrected format. Each EMITL2BMIN granule contains two Network Common Data Format 4 (NetCDF4) files at a spatial resolution of 60 meters (m): Mineral Identification (EMIT_L2B_MIN) and Mineral Uncertainty (EMIT_L2B_MINUNCERT). The EMIT_L2B_MIN file contains the band depth (the depth of the identified spectral feature) and the identified mineral for each pixel. Two spectral groups, which correspond to different regions of the spectra, are identified independently and often co-occur. These estimates are generated using the [Tetracorder system](https://www.usgs.gov/publications/tetracorder-user-guide-version-44) ([code](https://github.com/PSI-edu/spectroscopy-tetracorder)) and are based on [EMITL2ARFL](https://doi.org/10.5067/EMIT/EMITL2ARFL.001) reflectance values. The EMIT_L2B_MINUNCERT file provides band depth uncertainty estimates calculated using surface Reflectance Uncertainty values from the EMITL2ARFL data product. The band depth uncertainties are presented as standard deviations. The fit score for each mineral identification is also provided as the coefficient of determination (r-squared) of the match between the continuum normalized library reference and the continuum normalized observed spectrum. Associated metadata indicates the name and reference information for each identified mineral, and additional information about aggregating minerals into different categories is available in the [emit-sds-l2b repository](https://github.com/emit-sds/emit-sds-l2b) and will be available as subsequent data products. The EMITL2BMIN data product includes a total of 19 Science Dataset (SDS) layers. There are four layers for each of the Spectral Groups (Group 1 and Group 2): Mineral Identification, Band Depth, Band Depth Uncertainties, and Fit Score. Additional layers consist of geometric lookup table (GLT) x values, GLT y values, latitude, longitude, elevation, associated spectral library record, mineral name, URL for the spectral library description, spectral group, spectral library, and spectral group index. A browse image with Group 1 Band Depth, Group 2 Band Depth, Group 1 Band Depth Uncertainty, and Group 2 Band Depth Uncertainty is also included. Each granule is approximately 75 kilometers (km) by 75 km, nominal at the equator, with some granules at the end of an orbit segment reaching 150 km in length. Disclaimer This product is generated to support the EMIT mission objectives of constraining the sign of dust related radiative forcing. Ten mineral types are the core focus of this work: calcite, chlorite, dolomite, goethite, gypsum, hematite, illite+muscovite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, and vermiculite. A future product will aggregate these results for use in Earth System Models. Additional minerals are included in this product for transparency but were not the focus of this product. Further validation is required to use these additional mineral maps, particularly in the case of resource exploration. Similarly, the separation of minerals with similar spectral features, such as a fine-grained goethite and hematite, is an area of active research. The results presented here are an initial offering, but the precise categorization is likely to evolve over time, and the limits of what can and cannot be separated on the global scale is still being explored. The user is encouraged to read the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) for more details. Known Issues * Data acquisition gap: From September 13, 2022, through January 6, 2023, a power issue outside of EMIT caused a pause in operations. Due to this shutdown, no data were acquired during that timeframe.

Get the data

emitl2bmin_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="EMITL2BMIN",
    version="001",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.