ECOSTRESS: Daily Global Evapotranspiration at 30m Resolution

Daily global estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) derived from the ECOSTRESS instrument on the International Space Station. The data product, created by NASA and the USDA using the disALEXI surface energy balance algorithm, provides ET, uncertainty, and quality flags at a 30-meter spatial resolution for latitudes between 52 degrees N and 52 degrees S. The instrument was launched in June 2018 and has experienced some operational anomalies affecting data acquisition.

Use Cases

• Estimating crop water use based on daily evapotranspiration data.
• Monitoring crop phenology and water stress for drought early warning.
• Analyzing land surface energy balance and water cycles using physics-based algorithm outputs.

Strengths

• Provides daily evapotranspiration estimates at a high spatial resolution of 30 meters.
• Derived using a physics-based surface energy balance algorithm (disALEXI) described in an Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document.
• Includes associated variables for uncertainty and quality flags.

Limitations

• Data acquisition has experienced gaps and anomalies, including issues with mass storage units from 2018-2023.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from ECOSTRESS Level 2 land surface temperature and emissivity product using the disALEXI algorithm with ancillary meteorological and vegetation data.

Time Range

Data collection began after instrument launch on June 29, 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:02:21.312467; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage between 52 degrees N and 52 degrees S latitudes.