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ISLSCP Initiative II Home General Data Overview Vegetation Data Overview |
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Vegetation Data
The Fourier-Adjusted, Sensor and Solar zenith angle corrected, Interpolated, Reconstructed (FASIR) adjusted Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data set and derived biophysical parameter fields were generated to provide a 17-year, satellite record of monthly changes in the photosynthetic activity of terrestrial vegetation. This multiple resolution (1/4, 1/2 and 1 degree in latitude and longitude) biophysical parameter data set contains essential variables for the calculation of photosynthesis, and the energy and water exchange between the Earth's surface (in particular of vegetation) and the lower boundary layer of the atmosphere. The Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) is related to the light absorption and the photosynthetic capacity of vegetation. It also serves as an intermediate variable to calculate vegetation cover fraction (Vcover), total Leaf Area Index (LAI_T), green leaf area index (LAI_G), roughness length (z0), zero plane displacement (d),and snow-free albedo (Sellers et al 1996, Los et al 2000). The biophysical parameters were derived assuming one canopy layer. The production of the FASIR NDVI data set and its associated biophysical parameters was funded by NASA's Land Surface Hydrology program and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) as a core component of the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Initiative II Data Collection.
Data Provider: Sietse O. Los, ISLSCP Initiative II
 Data Files (ISLSCP II Disc #1) |
 Data Set Documentation |
 Image Viewing Tutorial |
The files can be decompressed using the PKZip program. Each file contains ASCII text. The file format consists of numerical fields of varying length, which are delimited by a single space and arranged in columns and rows. All values in these files are written as real numbers. Water bodies are assigned the value of -99 while missing data over land are assigned the value of -88, and permanent ice is -77. The files at different spatial resolutions each contain the following numbers of columns and rows; 1 degree (1d), 360 columns by 180 rows: 1/2 degree (hd), 720 columns by 360 rows: 1/4 degree (qd), 1440 columns by 720 rows. Each file is named based on the month and year of the data.
Each file is named based on the month and year of the data.
Example: fasir_fapar413_1d_199009.asc is the 1-degree FAPAR from September 1990.
The data are structured so that the upperleft corner of the first pixel is located at 90 North latitude and 180 West longitude.
Related Pages:
ISLSCP Initiative II Home
General Data Overview
Vegetation Data Overview
FASIR NDVI Biophysical Parameter Fields
Revision Date: October 20, 2004