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Full catalog/NASADEM_SC
NASADEM_SC·v001·dataset

How steep and curved the land is (30 m)

NASADEM Slope and Curvation Global 1 arc second V001
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 Binary
In plain English

What it measures. Describes the shape of the land surface worldwide, specifically how steep each spot is (slope) and how the terrain curves, at about 30-meter spacing.

How it's made. Derived from the NASADEM global elevation model, which itself was built mainly from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and refined with ASTER and ICESat laser data.

How & where you'd use it. Used in studies of erosion, landslides, water flow and flooding, terrain analysis, and as input to environmental and hydrology models.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › TOPOGRAPHY › TERRAIN ELEVATIONSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › RADAR › RADAR IMAGERYLAND SURFACE › TOPOGRAPHY › TERRAIN ELEVATION › TOPOGRAPHICAL RELIEF MAPS

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-02-11 → 2000-02-21
  • Measured byOV-105 (SRTM)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -56, 180, 60
  • FormatsBinary
  • StatusCOMPLETE

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 Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) is responsible for the archive and distribution of NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments ([MEaSUREs](https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/competitive-programs/measures)) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) version 1 (NASADEM_SC) dataset, which provides global slope and curvature elevation data at 1 arc second spacing. NASADEM data products were derived from original telemetry data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a collaboration between NASA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), as well as participation from the German and Italian space agencies. SRTM's primary focus was to generate a near-global DEM of the Earth using radar interferometry. It was a primary component of the payload on space shuttle _Endeavour_ during its STS-99 mission, which was launched on February 11, 2000, and flew for 11 days. In addition to Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) Version 2 data, NASADEM also relied on Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) ground control points of its lidar shots to improve surface elevation measurements that led to improved geolocation accuracy. Other reprocessing improvements include the conversion to geoid reference and the use of GDEMs and Advanced Land Observing Satellite Panchromatic Remote-sensing instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) AW3D30 DEM, and interpolation for void filling. NASADEM are distributed in 1 degree latitude by 1 degree longitude tiles and consist of all land between 60° N and 56° S latitude. This accounts for about 80% of Earth's total landmass. NASADEM_SC data product layers include slope, aspect angle, profile curvature, plan curvature, and an updated SRTM water body dataset (water mask). A low-resolution browse image showing slope is also available for each NASADEM_SC granule.

Get the data

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="NASADEM_SC",
    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.