Global Forest Cover Change Surface Reflectance Estimates, 30m Resolution

Global Forest Cover Change Surface Reflectance Estimates Multi-Year Global dataset is derived from Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+ images at 30 meter resolution for epochs centered on 1990, 2000, 2005, and 2010. The Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) archives and distributes this product through NASA's MEaSUREs Program. Atmospheric corrections were applied to seven visible bands to estimate surface reflectance.

Use Cases

• Monitor deforestation and forest regrowth based on multi-year surface reflectance estimates
• Analyze land cover change patterns during peak growing seasons
• Validate or calibrate other forest cover datasets using the source reflectance data
• Study atmospheric effects on satellite imagery using the Atmospheric Opacity layer

Strengths

• 30-meter spatial resolution provides detailed imagery
• Multi-year coverage across four epochs (1990, 2000, 2005, 2010)
• Atmospheric corrections applied to seven visible bands for surface reflectance estimation

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data acquisition period spans June 1984 through August 2011; recent changes are not captured

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from enhanced Global Land Survey (GLS) datasets composed of Landsat images, with supplemental images added for completeness.

Time Range

Epochs centered on 1990, 2000, 2005, and 2010; enhanced GLS data acquired June 1984 through August 2011.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:53:40.007567; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global