Free Remote Sensing phenology data

Remote Sensing phenology data. Download free Remote Sensing phenology data online from the USGS/EROS Center.

The USGS has made its long-term historical remote sensing data and graphics about biological life-cycle events available to the public at no charge on the web, Secretary of the Interior Salazar announced.

Orbiting hundreds of miles above the earth, remote sensing satellites track plant and animal life cycle events that occur at certain times of the year, such as plant leafing and flowering or bird migrations. The scientific term for the study of these recurring life cycle events is phenology.

Dating back to 1989, the USGS historical datasets provide a widely accessible and impartial record (at one-kilometer resolution) of the time of year that measurable cyclic events in nature have occurred over the conterminous United States. These historical remote sensing phenology data for the conterminous United States can be accessed online at http://phenology.cr.usgs.gov/get_data.php. The data are acquired from satellites and then compiled and maintained at the USGS-EROS Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“With its long-term observational networks, extensive databases, and diverse research expertise, the USGS is helping provide the broad scientific perspective needed to expand our understanding of climate change and its impact on the nation’s resources and economy,” said Secretary Salazar.