--B.W. Meeson (1,2), F.E. Corprew (1,3), J.M.P. MxManus (1,3), D,M. Myers (1,3), J.W. Closs (1,3), K.J. Sun (1,3), D.J. Sunday (5), P.J. Sellers (2,4)
(1) EOSDIS Goddard Distributed Active Archive Center
(2) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
(3) Hughes STX Corporation
(4) International Satellite Land Surface climatology
Project
(5) Sundancer Communications
A 5-volume CD set of temporally and spatially consistent global data sets for global climate studies is now available free of charge. Responding to needs of modelers, algorithm developers, and field experiment scientists within the land-atmosphere interaction research community, the set's creators compiled a consistent collection of high-priority global data sets using existing data sources and algorithms. These data are currently being used to drive land-atmosphere models and to support soil moisture modeling, modeling of net primary productivity for the terrestrial component of Earth, and global climate models. They may also be used for a wide variety of other research and educational purposes including teaching Earth systems science. We anticipate many more uses for these data.
The data sets on this 5-volume CD set cover five areas:
They span the 24-month period 1987-1988, and all but one are mapped to a common spatial resolution and grid (1 degree x 1 degree). Temporal resolution for most data sets is monthly. The data within each of these areas were acquired from a variety of sources including model output, satellites, and ground measurements. What Makes This CD Set Different From Others?
It provides a diversity of parameters in a uniform and consistent manner that has undergone a comprehensive peer review by potential users of these data. This CD set contains a suite of global (1 degree x 1 degree) images for 67 parameters derived from satellite and ground measurements, model output, and one ground-based, point measurement data set (river runoff). The full suite of parameters available on these CDs is shown in Table 1 along with the contributing organizations and the temporal resolution of the parameters.
The data were compiled from a variety of sources throughout the world. Several of the parameters that appear here were produced specifically for this CD set, while others were assembled from existing, yet-uncollated data sets or obtained from archives or individuals' private collections.
These data are especially useful because they have a simple structure and a high degree of uniformity, thereby enabling similar handling and use of all the data sets. The data are consistent in composition, format, and documentation. In composition, they have similar temporal and spatial coverages and resolutions and similar fill values, masks, and treatment of holes (Table 2).
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DATA
FORMAT
DOCUMENTATION
Table 2. Uniformity of Data Files
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The format is identical for all of the data sets except one (river runoff), they are all gridded to exactly the same grid, and the format is extremely simple (ASCII and ISO 9660 standards are used throughout), so that no platform-dependent hardware or software is required to use them. Finally, the documentation uses a common outline for all data sets (Table 3).
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Table 3. Standardized Documentation Format
for the Data Sets
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To illustrate this consistency, examples of parameters from each of the five groups listed above are shown in Figure 1.
| Figure 1. Parameter Samples, July 1, 1987 | ||
|---|---|---|
| FASIR-NDVI Monthly | Precipitation Monthly | Soil Texture |
| Snow Depth Monthly January | Incoming PAR 1200 GMT, July 1 | Hybrid Longwave Radiation 1200 GMT, July 1 |
| Surface Air Temperature 1200 GMT, July 1 |
Users of these CDs can feel confident that at publication in April 1995 these data represented the best global data available for each parameter covered herein for the 1987-1988 period. These data and companion documentation have gone through an extensive five-stage peer-review process by current and potential users that included individual hands-on use of individual data sets and workshops where data sets were compared for consistency. Where reviewers deemed necessary, corrections to data sets and documentation were made to address their comments. Moreover, a formal peer review is published on the CD to address items found during the reviews whose corrections were not considered essential before publication.
Browse Sample Data and Documentation
Uncertain if these CDs meet your need? You can examine the documentation and browse sample images from the publisher's World Wide Web page. Just connect to the following URL address: http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/ISLSCP/islscp_i1.html
Note: The URL address is case sensitive, so enter it exactly as shown here.
How To Obtain the Free CD Set
Call, FAX, or send e-mail to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) help desk or connect to our above-mentioned World Wide Web page to place an online order. These data are free. There is no charge.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Acknowledgments
The support of NASA Headquarters; Office of Mission to Planet Earth; the Operations, Data, and Information Systems Division; and the Science Division are gratefully acknowledged.
