Land

Important land variables include soil moisture, vegetation coverage, surface radiation budgets and more. Overview pages summarize and compare selected datasets of a given variable.

To find a specific dataset or variable, jump to the search box below or click your desired variable from among the blue sub-category buttons.

To see only the datasets accompanied by expert commentaries, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.

Climate datasets

Has expert guidance
TerraClimate: Global, high-resolution gridded temperature, precipitation, and other water balance variables TerraClimate: Global, high-resolution gridded temperature, precipitation, and other water balance variables

  • Years of record

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TerraClimate is a global gridded dataset of meteorological and water balance variables for 1958-present, available on a monthly timestep. Its relatively fine spatial…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Maximum Air Temperature Minimum Air Temperature Potential Evapotranspiration Precipitation Wind Snow Water Equivalent Land evapotranspiration Runoff and Streamflow Soil Moisture

    • Timestep

    • Climatology, Monthly

    • Collections

    • N/A
Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI)

  • Years of record

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The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) uses readily available temperature and precipitation data to estimate relative dryness. It is a standardized index that generally…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Drought
Soil Moisture Data Sets: Overview & Comparison Tables Soil Moisture Data Sets: Overview & Comparison Tables

  • Years of record

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Soil moisture is a state variable of the land that crosses the interfaces of several disciplines, including meteorology, hydrology, climatology and ecology. Soil moisture…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Soil Moisture
Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)

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The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is a widely used index to characterize meteorological drought on a range of timescales. On short timescales, the SPI is closely…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Precipitation Land Drought

    • Formats

    • N/A

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Domain

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    • Collections

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contribution from each of the different evaporation components in GLEAM for 1980-2022 (contributed by A Koppa and D Miralles) Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM)

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The Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM) is a satellite remote sensing-based set of algorithms dedicated to the estimation of evaporation and soil moisture at…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere land evaporation Land evapotranspiration Soil Moisture

    • Formats

    • N/A

    • Timestep

    • Daily

    • Collections

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graph Simulation performance of 19 Earth system models (credit: Justin Makin and Corey Lesk) Making sense of data from Land Surface Models (LSMs)

  • Years of record

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The land surface is a dynamic and complex component of the Earth system, shaping climate and biogeochemical cycles and serving as the origin of many anthropogenic impacts on…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere Land

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    • Timestep

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    • Domain

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    • Collections

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maps of SIF and GPP (contributed by Jingfeng Xiao and Xing Li) Global dataset of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (GOSIF)

  • Years of record

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GOSIF is a global, gridded dataset of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF). SIF, an energy flux re-emitted by plants a few nanoseconds after light absorption,…

Main variables and Earth System components

Biosphere GPP: Gross Primary Production solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) Land Gross Primary Production

    • Formats

    • N/A

    • Timestep

    • Monthly, Weekly

    • Collections

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