ECOSTRESS: Daily Global Water Use Efficiency for Plants at 70m Resolution

Daily global measurements of plant Water Use Efficiency (WUE) from the ECOSTRESS instrument on the International Space Station, launched June 29, 2018. The data product provides the ratio of carbon stored to water evaporated by plants, calculated using the PT-JPL algorithm, and covers latitudes between 52 degrees N and 52 degrees S. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Use Cases

• Modeling regional plant water stress and drought impacts based on the water use efficiency metric.
• Studying ecosystem carbon and water flux dynamics based on the daily carbon-to-water ratio.
• Analyzing global vegetation health and productivity trends based on thermal radiometer measurements.
• Calibrating and validating land surface models using satellite-derived water use efficiency data.

Strengths

• Provides a single, focused variable (water use efficiency) for consistent analysis.
• Offers high spatial resolution of 70 meters for detailed geographical study.
• Covers a broad latitudinal range (52°N to 52°S) for global tropical and temperate analysis.
• Documents known data acquisition gaps and anomalies, providing transparency.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data has known acquisition gaps and instrument anomalies, as detailed in the description.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the ECOSTRESS thermal radiometer on the International Space Station and processed with the PT-JPL algorithm.

Time Range

From the instrument's launch on June 29, 2018, onward, with documented operational gaps.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:51:57.455227; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage between 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south latitude.