Land cover and forest mass from radar, Brazilian Amazon
What it measures. For four areas across the Brazilian Amazon, this includes corrected radar images, maps sorting the land into cover types (flat surface, regrowth, short vegetation, tall vegetation), and estimates of how much plant matter (biomass) each area holds in tons per hectare.
How it's made. Built from radar images taken by the JERS-1 and RadarSat satellites, which were geometrically corrected and then classified into land cover and used to estimate biomass.
How & where you'd use it. Useful for studying Amazon forest cover, regrowth, and the amount of carbon stored in vegetation across these regions.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span1974-01-01 → 1998-06-18
- Measured byRADARSAT-1 (SAR, DIGITIZER) · JERS-1 (SAR)
- Processing levelLevel 3
- Spatial extent-68.5008, -10.5014, -54.4989, -2.0017
- Formatsmultiple
- StatusCOMPLETE
What you can do with it
- Map vegetation, forests and biomass
- Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
- Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description
This data set provides three related land cover products for four study areas across the Brazilian Amazon: Manaus, Amazonas; Tapajos National Forest, Para Western (Santarem); Rio Branco, Acre; and Rondonia, Rondonia. Products include (1) orthorectified JERS-1 and RadarSat images, (2) land cover classifications derived from the SAR data, and (3) biomass estimates in tons per hectare based on the land cover classification. There are 12 image files (.tif) with this data set. Orthorectified JERS-1 and RadarSat images are provided as GeoTIFF images - one file for each study area. For the Manaus and Tapajos sites: The images are orthorectified at 12.5-meter resolution and then re-sampled at 25-meter resolution. For the Rondonia and Rio Branco sites: The images from 1978 are orthorectified at 25-meter resolution and then re-sampled at 90-meter resolution. Each GeoTIFF file contains 3 image channels: - 2 L-band JERS-1 data in Fall and Spring seasons and - 1 C-band RadarSat data. Land cover classifications are based on two JERS-1 images and one RadarSat image and provided as GeoTIFFs - one file for each study area. Four major land cover classes are distinguished: (1) Flat surface; (2) Regrowth area; (3) Short vegetation; and (4) Tall vegetation. The biomass estimates in tons per hectare are based on the land cover classification results and are reported in one GeoTIFF file for each study area. DATA QUALITY STATEMENT: The Data Center has determined that there are questions about the quality of the data reported in this data set. The data set has missing or incomplete data, metadata, or other documentation that diminishes the usability of the products. KNOWN PROBLEMS: The data providers note that due to limited resources, these data have been neither validated nor quality-assured for general use. For that reason, extreme caution is advised when considering the use of these data. Any use of the derived data is not recommended because the results have not been validated. However, the DEM and vectors (related data set), and orthorectified SAR data can be used if the user understands how these were produced and accepts the limitations.
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="LC03_SAR_LC_Biomass_1093",
version="1",
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 ORNL_CLOUDBrowsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package. Official links
- Earthdata Search allows users to search, discover, visualize, refine, and access NASA Earth Observation data. GET DATA
- Collection Bundle URL GET DATA
- ORNL DAAC Data Set Documentation VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Data Set Documentation VIEW RELATED INFORMATION