ECOSTRESS: Global Cloud Mask Data at 70m Resolution from the ISS

ECOSTRESS, attached to the International Space Station, measures plant temperatures to understand water stress. The ECO_L2G_CLOUD product provides a global cloud mask at 70-meter resolution, derived using a Bayesian cloud threshold method, to aid in accurate land surface temperature estimation. This Version 2 data is produced by NASA and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Masking cloud cover in satellite imagery based on the provided cloud confidence and final cloud mask layers.
• Improving land surface temperature estimation accuracy by filtering cloudy pixels.
• Supporting evapotranspiration modeling by providing clear-sky data conditions.
• Analyzing global cloud distribution patterns between 52° N and 52° S latitudes.

Strengths

• Provides two specific data layers: cloud confidence and final cloud mask.
• Data is gridded to a globally snapped 0.0006° grid, offering consistent spatial reference.
• Produced by NASA, an authoritative source for Earth science data.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Data acquisition experienced gaps and anomalies in 2018-2020 and operated in a reduced 3-band mode from 2019 to 2023.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from ECOSTRESS instrument data on the International Space Station using a single-channel Bayesian cloud threshold with a look-up-table approach, then resampled and gridded.

Time Range

Acquisitions began after the instrument launch on June 29, 2018.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:02:08.845495; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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