Remote Sensing and Terrain Analysis for Vegetation Monitoring
Integrates satellite-derived vegetation indices, drone-based surface mapping, and digital elevation models to monitor plant phenology, canopy cover, and water balance across mountain landscapes.
Knowledge Graph (274 nodes, 1128 connections)
Research Primer
Background
Mountain ecosystems like those surrounding the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado are shaped by steep gradients in elevation, sunlight, moisture, and temperature. Tracking how vegetation responds to these gradients — and to a changing climate — requires tools that can see across entire landscapes, not just individual meadows or plots. Remote sensing and terrain analysis provide those tools, combining satellite imagery, airborne sensors, and digital terrain data to map where plants grow, when they green up, and how they change from year to year. For the Gunnison Basin, where snowmelt timing, aspect, and slope drive much of the ecological variation between neighboring hillsides, these methods are essential for scaling up local field measurements to basin-wide understanding.
Several key concepts underpin this research area. NDVI, or the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, is a number derived from satellite imagery that indicates how green and photosynthetically active vegetation is at a given place and time — higher values mean denser, healthier green cover. Scientists use NDVI time series to estimate phenology, such as the start of spring (when plants leaf out) or peak greenness. A digital elevation model (DEM) is a gridded map of terrain elevation; from a DEM researchers can calculate slope, aspect, and topographic shading — the patterns of sun and shade cast by ridges and peaks, which strongly influence snowmelt and plant growth in mountain valleys. The green chromatic coordinate is a related measure derived from ordinary color photographs (including from phenocams or drones) that tracks greenness without requiring specialized satellite sensors.
Researchers also characterize landscapes using metrics like burn severity (how intensely a wildfire altered vegetation and soil) and air temperature gradients, and they increasingly rely on presence and absence data — locations where a species or land cover type is or is not found — to train predictive maps. Because field sampling is expensive in rugged terrain, remote sensing offers a way to extend limited ground observations across the entire Gunnison Basin, informing land management, wildlife habitat assessment, and long-term monitoring of climate-driven ecological change.
Foundational work
Early foundational research in this area focused on whether satellite-based estimates of spring phenology could be trusted and compared across methods. A large intercomparison of ten different start-of-spring algorithms applied to North American satellite records from 1982 to 2006 found that methods could differ by up to 60 days in estimating when spring began at a given location, with the best agreement in northern latitudes and the poorest in arid and Mediterranean ecoregions (White et al., 2009). That study, which integrated over 16,000 ground-based phenology observations with snow cover, lake ice, and streamflow timing records, established a critical benchmark: remote sensing can track vegetation phenology across continents, but method choice matters enormously, and ground truthing remains essential.
Parallel foundational work at RMBL linked remote and in-situ observations to animal behavior in alpine terrain. Temperature monitoring along elevational gradients showed that American pika activity was strongly correlated with time of day and temperature, even though no simple relationship between activity duration and temperature emerged (Chavez, 2006). This early study illustrated how terrain-based environmental data could be coupled with biological observations to understand how species use heterogeneous mountain habitats.
Key findings
A central finding from the intercomparison work is that satellite-derived phenology estimates are internally consistent in their year-to-year variation but can disagree substantially on absolute dates, meaning that trends over time are more reliable than single-year estimates (White et al., 2009). The same study demonstrated that remote sensing products align best with ground observations in snow-dominated systems like the Rockies, where the contrast between dormant and active vegetation is sharp — a finding directly relevant to the Gunnison Basin, where snowmelt drives the growing season.
Work on pika activity established, with strong confidence, that temperature and time of day are tightly linked in mountain microclimates, though not perfectly so (Chavez, 2006). Importantly, pikas remained active across a wide range of temperatures from roughly 10 to 38 degrees Celsius, suggesting that simple temperature thresholds alone may not predict habitat suitability — terrain features that create cool refugia, like talus fields and shaded slopes, likely matter as much as ambient temperature.
More recent methodological advances have shown that researchers can generate useful ecological sample points directly from high-resolution imagery, even when field data are unavailable, by digitally identifying presence and absence locations based on visible landscape features (Engelstad et al., 2023). This approach expands the reach of species distribution modeling and vegetation mapping into areas and time periods that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Current frontier
Early work from the 1990s and 2000s established that satellite phenology and terrain-based environmental monitoring were feasible but method-sensitive. Recent studies since 2020 have shifted focus toward integrating multiple data streams — high-resolution imagery, small uncrewed aircraft systems (drones) carrying multispectral cameras and radiometers, airborne digital elevation modeling from platforms like the NEON Airborne Observation Platform, and solar radiation models that account for topographic shading. The emphasis is moving from single-sensor products to fused workflows that combine field measurements of canopy cover, evapotranspiration proxies like the green chromatic coordinate, and terrain-derived variables to build finer-scale maps of vegetation dynamics.
Methodological guides for generating presence and absence data from imagery reflect a broader democratization of remote sensing tools (Engelstad et al., 2023), allowing community scientists, students, and land managers to participate in landscape-scale monitoring. At the same time, larger geological and climatic context — such as the recognition that the current interglacial represents an unusual warm period in Earth's recent history A Geologist's View of Global Change— motivates long-term monitoring programs in the Gunnison Basin, where water reallocation pressures Reallocation of Water from Agricultural to Municipal Use and climate change converge.
Open questions
Several important questions remain. How can satellite phenology products be reconciled with ground-based observations to produce reliable decadal trends in the Gunnison Basin, given the large method-to-method differences documented in earlier intercomparisons? How should terrain-derived variables like aspect, slope, and topographic shading be combined with greenness indices to predict habitat suitability for temperature-sensitive species in a warming climate? Can drone-based and satellite-based approaches be fused to capture both fine-scale meadow variation and basin-wide patterns? And how will changes in snowpack timing, wildfire regimes, and water availability reshape the vegetation signals that remote sensing detects? Answering these questions over the next decade will require sustained ground monitoring at RMBL alongside continued advances in sensor technology and terrain modeling.
References
Chavez, A. N. (2006). Activity of American pikas, Ochotona princeps, with respect to temperature along an elevational gradient. →
Engelstad, P., Carver, D., & Young, N. E. (2023). Creating Presence and Absence Points. →
White, M. A., de Beurs, K. M., Didan, K., Inouye, D. W., Richardson, A. D., et al. (2009). Intercomparison, interpretation, and assessment of spring phenology in North America estimated from remote sensing for 1982 to 2006. Global Change Biology. →
Concept (14) →
air temperature
NDVI
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, derived from satellite imagery to estimate vegetation greenness and photosynthetic activity
digital elevation model
Raster representation of terrain elevation used to derive topographic attributes like slope and aspect
current velocity
Speed of water flow in streams, affecting nutrient movement and algal composition
green chromatic coordinate
burn severity
topographic shading
Doppler velocity
Radial velocity of particles measured by Doppler radar
atmospheric acidification
vessel traffic
Show 4 more concepts
Protocol (32) →
Densiometer canopy coverage estimation
Vegetation greenness assessment using Green Chromatic Coordinate as proxy for evapotranspiration rates. Calculates green reflectance normalized by tot...
sUAS surface property mapping
Small uncrewed aircraft systems equipped with pyranometers, multispectral cameras, and radiometers to map spatial variability in surface albedo, veget...
Water balance equation
Comprehensive approach calculating potential evapotranspiration using three established methods (Thornthwaite, Hargreaves, Penman-Monteith) and actual...
eddy covariance
Standardized eddy covariance measurements of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy fluxes between ecosystems and atmosphere. Continuous automated me...
Snow energy and mass balance monitoring
Continuous hourly monitoring of meteorological variables including wind, temperature, humidity, snowpack depth, and radiation components using tower-m...
Tipping bucket rain gauge
Rain measurements recorded via tipping bucket rain gauge, though may not be accurate for winter precipitation events like snow.
GRASS GIS r.sun solar radiation model
Calculation of potential solar radiation at study sites using topographic variables including sun angle, latitude, ground slope, local shading, and da...
NEON AOP digital elevation modeling
Creation of digital surface model from 2018 NEON Airborne Observation Platform dataset representing height above sea level for objects attached to the...
Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry
Stream discharge measurement using acoustic doppler velocimetry with systematic cross-sectional velocity measurements integrated to calculate total fl...
ASTER thermal infrared remote sensing
Uses ASTER thermal infrared data to identify areas of anomalous surface temperature. Areas with modeled temperatures between 1° and 2° above the mean ...
Show 22 more protocols
MODIS EVI time series analysis
Harmonized Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 imagery processed through continental-scale algorithms to create vegetation index time series and estimate phenoph...
UAS microwave radiometry
Soil moisture measurements using the Lobe Differencing Correlation Radiometer (LDCR) L-Band microwave radiometer flown on aerial platforms.
Green Chromatic Coordinate Camera Monitoring
Time-lapse photography using Moultrie M40 cameras mounted at 45° angle to capture plot-level vegetation greenness and calculate Green Chromatic Coordi...
Underway oceanographic measurement
Collection of sea surface temperature, surface current, wind, and atmospheric pressure data from racing yacht during circumnavigation. Data collected ...
Single-direction watershed delineation
Flow lines derived in GRASS GIS using a single direction algorithm from hydrologically corrected digital elevation model to delineate watersheds drain...
Sequential Chemical Extraction
Soil samples extracted into exchangeable, apatite, and silicate pools using different chemical solutions to isolate nutrient sources.
Subsurface temperature logging
Long-term monitoring of subsurface temperatures in pika habitat using buried data loggers to characterize thermal stress and microclimate conditions.
Microwave digestion
Laboratory method for sample preparation and analysis.
Bilinear and conservative interpolation regridding
Uses xESMF package to interpolate different UAS measurements to a common rectilinear grid, with bilinear interpolation for soil moisture and conservat...
Flow correlation and correction
Correlation of daily flows with USGS stream gauge data and linear interpolation for ice-covered periods.
Weather station temperature deviation analysis
Collection and analysis of daily temperature data to calculate deviations from long-term averages. Multi-year averages are computed and compared to da...
Satellite SST Composite Gridding
Composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution SST observations collected by AVHRR and HIRS instruments onboard NOAA and Metop-A satellites, gen...
AIS vessel traffic monitoring
Automatic Identification Systems tracking vessel location and characteristics in real-time for traffic density analysis.
Disdrometer precipitation monitoring
Used optical instruments with lasers to measure size and fall speed of precipitation particles including raindrops, snowflakes, and hail.
Secondary quality control
Marine scientists assign flags to data sets and WOCE flags of 2 (good), 3 (questionable) or 4 (bad) to individual fCO2 values during secondary quality...
Data quality control
Data cleaning procedures including interpolation of missing values and setting snow depths to zero after depletion date.
composite gridded analysis
Processing 8-km resolution observations into 100-km global gridded products. Daily generation of global temperature maps from satellite data.
Ground control point calibration
Use of ground control points to associate calibration images and video to real-world distances and provide pixel ground scale distance for each video.
DEM gap-filling and harmonization
Gap-filling areas outside Upper East River domain with interpolated data from 3m ASO DEM, harmonized with NEON DEM and filtered to remove small pits a...
Barometric pressure water level measurement
Water level elevations obtained using barometric pressure from pressure transducers in wells, combined with TOC elevation and depth measurements.
Soil Profile Installation
Excavation of soil pits and installation of sensors at 5, 15, and 50 cm depths with proper soil horizon replacement.
Doppler lidar vertical stare scanning
CLAMPS2 Halo Streamline XR+ Doppler lidar directs beam to zenith for measurement of vertical velocity with range-resolved measurements of radial veloc...
Stakeholder (3)
College of Natural Resources
Colorado Water Education Foundation
Human Dimensions in Natural Resources Unit
Dataset (117) →
pivot points and responses by polygon
Data from: Thoma, D.P., S.M. Munson & D.L. Witwicki 2018. Landscape pivot points and responses to water balance in national parks of the southwest...
Data from: Landscape pivot points and responses to water balance in national parks of the southwest U.S.
1. A recent drying trend that is expected to continue in the southwestern U.S. underscores the need for site-specific and near real-time understanding...
Hybrid predictive modeling approach simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration data
This dataset includes measured data used for developing hybrid-predictive-modeling (HPM) approach and simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respi...
Hybrid predictive modeling approach simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration data
This dataset includes measured data used for developing hybrid-predictive-modeling (HPM) approach and simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respi...
Hybrid predictive modeling approach simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration data
This dataset includes measured data used for developing hybrid-predictive-modeling (HPM) approach and simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respi...
Hybrid predictive modeling approach simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration data
This dataset includes measured data used for developing hybrid-predictive-modeling (HPM) approach and simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respi...
Hybrid predictive modeling approach simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration data
This dataset includes measured data used for developing hybrid-predictive-modeling (HPM) approach and simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respi...
DWCZ- CO - Coal-Creek, Soil sensors, SoilAuger, Soil Pits, (DWCZ-CC_Soil_LBixby)-(2021)
LOCATION: Coal Creek is a high-elevation, headwater tributary to the Upper Colorado Basin located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Coal Creek is also ...
DWCZ- CO - Coal-Creek, Soil sensors, SoilAuger, Soil Pits, (DWCZ-CC_Soil_LBixby)-(2021)
LOCATION: Coal Creek is a high-elevation, headwater tributary to the Upper Colorado Basin located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Coal Creek is also ...
Sensor-based phenology from snowmelt experiment gradient, East River, Colorado, 2017 to 2020
The timing of snowmelt is a critical cue for the initiation of growth in mountain meadow ecosystems and can also impact the duration and magnitude of ...
Show 107 more datasets
Sensor-based phenology from snowmelt experiment gradient, East River, Colorado, 2017 to 2020
The timing of snowmelt is a critical cue for the initiation of growth in mountain meadow ecosystems and can also impact the duration and magnitude of ...
Sensor-based phenology from snowmelt experiment gradient, East River, Colorado, 2017 to 2020
The timing of snowmelt is a critical cue for the initiation of growth in mountain meadow ecosystems and can also impact the duration and magnitude of ...
Sensor-based phenology from snowmelt experiment gradient, East River, Colorado, 2017 to 2020
The timing of snowmelt is a critical cue for the initiation of growth in mountain meadow ecosystems and can also impact the duration and magnitude of ...
Upland Vegetation and Soils Monitoring for the Northern Colorado Plateau Network: 2009-2023 - Data Package
Uplands are land areas lying above the elevation where flooding generally occurs—areas found beyond riparian zones. Uplands represent the vast majorit...
SPLASH Field Study; BST/NOAA PSL Level 3 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature (NCEI Accession 0301536)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners participated in the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and Surface for Hydrom...
Hybrid predictive modeling approach simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respiration data
This dataset includes measured data used for developing hybrid-predictive-modeling (HPM) approach and simulated evapotranspiration and ecosystem respi...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 3 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
Discharge data collected within the East River for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (water years 2015-2018)
Discharge data collected at the East River in the Upper Colorado River Basin for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Watershed Function Scient...
Discharge data collected within the East River for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (water years 2015-2018)
Discharge data collected at the East River in the Upper Colorado River Basin for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Watershed Function Scient...
Sensor-based phenology from snowmelt experiment gradient, East River, Colorado, 2017 to 2020
The timing of snowmelt is a critical cue for the initiation of growth in mountain meadow ecosystems and can also impact the duration and magnitude of ...
Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, sea surface salinity, temperature and barometric pressure collected from surface underway observations during the racing sailing vessel Seaexplorer (Malizia II) cruises in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean from 2020-07-03 to 2021-01-05 (NCEI Accession 0235681)
This dataset includes surface underway data collected during the racing sailing vessel Seaexplorer (Malizia II) cruises in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian ...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 3 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, sea surface salinity, temperature and barometric pressure collected from surface underway observations during the racing sailing vessel Malizia Ocean Challenge cruises in the Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean from 2023-02-26 to 2023-05-29 (NCEI Accession 0292120)
This dataset includes surface underway data collected during the racing sailing vessel Malizia Ocean Challenge cruises in the Atlantic Ocean, South Pa...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 3 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
Sea surface temperature (SST) and surface current data collected from the Mar Mostro during the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) from 2011-11-05 to 2012-07-12 (NCEI Accession 0130694)
Navigation, surface current, sea surface temperature, wind, and atmospheric pressure data collected by the Mar Mostro during the around-the-world Volv...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 2 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 2 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
SPLASH Field Study; Surface Meteorological Observations at Roaring Judy, Colorado, 2021-09-28 to 2023-09-05 (NCEI Accession 0287379)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
Surface underway measurements of partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity and water temperature collected from the sailing vessel HOLCIM during the Vendée Globe 2024 race in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean from 2024-11-10 to 2025-01-25 (NCEI Accession 0310919)
This dataset includes data collected from the race sailing vessel HOLCIM during the Vendée Globe 2024 race. A flow-through membrane pCO2 sensor is int...
SPLASH Field Study; NOAA PSL Soil Moisture and Surface Temperature Probe Data at Avery Picnic and Kettle Ponds, Colorado (NCEI Accession 0302136)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 2 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
BST/NOAA PSL Level 3 UAS Soil Moisture, Digital Elevation, Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, and Surface Temperature for SPLASH
This dataset contains uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) high-resolution data of soil moisture at the 0-5 cm soil depth, normalized difference vegetation...
Multi-direction Flow Accumulation for the Upper East River Domain
This dataset represents estimated flow accumulation from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The map was derived in GRASS GIS using a ...
Multi-direction Stream Flowlines for the Upper East River Domain
<p>This map represents estimated stream flowlines from a hydrologically corrected digital elevation model. The lines were derived in the GRASS GIS mod...
Bare Earth Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 80 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 80 (spring equinox), taking into account shading from...
Bare-earth Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 265 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 265 (fall equinox), taking into account shading from ...
Bare-earth Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 172 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 172 (summer solstice), taking into account shading fr...
Bare Earth Potential Solar Radiation on Day of Year 355 for the Upper East River Derived from 2018 NEON AOP Data
This dataset represents potential clear-sky incident solar radiation (in w/m^2) for day of year 355 (winter solstice), taking into account shading fr...
Discharge data collected within the East River for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (water years 2015-2018)
Discharge data collected at the East River in the Upper Colorado River Basin for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Watershed Function Scient...
Discharge data collected within the East River for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Watershed Function Science Focus Area (water years 2015-2018)
Discharge data collected at the East River in the Upper Colorado River Basin for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Watershed Function Scient...
SPLASH Field Study; Ott Disdrometer Raw & Stats Observations at Brush Creek, Colorado, 2021-10-19 to 2023-09-03 (NCEI Accession 0287380)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
SPLASH Field Study; Ott Disdrometer Raw & Stats Observations at Kettle Ponds, Colorado, 2021-09-30 to 2023-09-05 (NCEI Accession 0287378)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
SPLASH Field Study; Atmospheric Surface Flux Station #30 measurements (level 2 Processed), Sep2021-Jul2023 (NCEI Accession 0303959)
Processed (Level 2) measurements and derived variables from the Atmospheric Surface Flux Station #30 (ASFS-30) deployed at the Kettle Ponds Annex site...
SPLASH Field Study; Atmospheric Surface Flux Station #50 measurements (level 2 Processed), Oct2021-Jun2023 (NCEI Accession 0303960)
Processed (Level 2) measurements and derived variables from the Atmospheric Surface Flux Station #50 (ASFS-50) deployed at the Avery Picnic site (38°5...
SPLASH Field Study; NOAA NSSL CLAMPS2 TROPoe Retrievals from 2021-10-21 to 2022-01-18 (NCEI Accession 0303080)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
SPLASH Field Study; NOAA PSL CL31 Ceilometer Backscatter and Cloud Base Height Data from 2021-10-21 to 2022-01-28 (NCEI Accession 0303807)
This dataset contains daily files from a CL31 ceilometer manufactured by Vaisala that was deployed at Roaring Judy in the East River Watershed in Colo...
SPLASH Field Study; HELiX UAS Solar Irradiance data from 2022-03-12 to 2022-06-04 (NCEI Accession 0303584)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
SPLASH Field Study; CLAMPS2 Doppler Lidar Vertical Stare Data (NCEI Accession 0304847)
These files contain 24-hour periods of data collected from the CLAMPS2 Halo Streamline XR+ Doppler lidar. While not conducting other scans, the lidar ...
SPLASH Field Study; NOAA and CIRES Ceilometer Cloud Data Products at Brush Creek, Colorado, 2021-10-19 to 2023-08-14 (NCEI Accession 0301003)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Woodhouse et al. 2006 Updated Streamflow Reconstructions for the Upper Colorado River Basin
This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (W...
Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas Database Version 2024 (SOCATv2024) (NCEI Accession 0293257)
The ocean absorbs one quarter of the global CO2 emissions from human activity. The community-led Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (www.socat.info) is key for t...
Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas Database Version 2025 (SOCATv2025) (NCEI Accession 0304549)
The ocean absorbs one quarter of the global CO2 emissions from human activity. The community-led Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (www.socat.info) is key for t...
NOAA PSL Soil Moisture and Surface Temperature Probe Data for SPLASH
This dataset contains measurements from a hand-held FieldScout TDR Soil Moisture Meter within the 0-10 cm soil depth of: Time (UTC), GPS locations, El...
Data from: Drivers of spring migration phenology in Rocky Mountain elk
By migrating, ungulates take advantage of cyclical fluctuations in resources, which allows them to persist at greater population numbers than they wou...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023 (ver. 2.0, February 2026)
A series of field measurements of surface water velocity derived from video and Doppler velocity radar collected by small unoccupied aircraft systems ...
Areas with Surface Thermal Anomalies as Detected by ASTER and LANDSAT Data in Northwest Delta, Colorado
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in northern Saguache Counties identified from ASTER and LANDSAT thermal data and spatial based i...
Areas with Surface Thermal Anomalies as Detected by ASTER and LANDSAT Data in Northern Saguache County, Colorado
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in northern Saguache Counties identified from ASTER and LANDSAT thermal data and spatial based i...
Compilation of actual evapotranspiration and vegetation indices along critical riparian zones on the Navajo Nation from 2013-2023
These data were compiled for monitoring riparian zone trends and changes in the Navajo Nation as part of a study to document riparian ecosystem health...
Areas with Surface Thermal Anomalies as Detected by ASTER and LANDSAT Data in Northwest Delta, Colorado
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in northern Saguache Counties identified from ASTER and LANDSAT thermal data and spatial based i...
Areas with Surface Thermal Anomalies as Detected by ASTER and LANDSAT Data in Northern Saguache County, Colorado
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in northern Saguache Counties identified from ASTER and LANDSAT thermal data and spatial based i...
Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data
This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another rem...
Talus Surface & Subsurface Temperature Data from Oregon & Colorado, USA, 2011-2019
Between 2011 and 2019, temperature data loggers were buried in rocky talus patches (hereafter “sites”) potentially occupied by American pikas (Ochoton...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Radar Spectra
This child item contains Doppler radar velocimetry spectra measurements for each field site where the radars were deployed. Each field site is abbrevi...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Ground Control
This child item contains information about associating the calibration images and video to real-world distances using ground control points for each f...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Discharge Measurements
This child item contains the raw acoustic Doppler velocity profiler (ADCP) measurements collected by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrographers at ea...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Ground Control
This child item contains information about associating the calibration images and video to real-world distances using ground control points for each f...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023 (ver. 2.0, February 2026)
A series of field measurements of surface water velocity derived from video and Doppler velocity radar collected by small unoccupied aircraft systems ...
iRON_Soil Moisture_Calibrated
**Error has been found in Glenwood Springs station data. The 8in depth soil moisture sensor was mislabeled as the 40in depth sensor and vice versa for...
iRON_Soil Moisture_Calibrated
**Error has been found in Glenwood Springs station data. The 8in depth soil moisture sensor was mislabeled as the 40in depth sensor and vice versa for...
DEFUNCT:_iRON_Soil Moisture_Calibrated_2013 to 2018
***An error has been caught in time codes. The time codes currently read GMT-5:00. The CORRECT time code is GMT-7:00 for all datasets. Files with Full...
Talus Surface & Subsurface Temperature Data from Oregon & Colorado, USA, 2011-2019
Between 2011 and 2019, temperature data loggers were buried in rocky talus patches (hereafter “sites”) potentially occupied by American pikas (Ochoton...
NESDIS Global 100 km sea surface temperature (SST) product, 1993 - 2016
Product shows global sea surface temperatures in degrees C. It is a composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution Global SST Observations and i...
Sea Surface Temperature (14 KM North America)
Product shows local sea surface temperatures (degrees C). It is a composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution SST Observations. It is generat...
Oceanographic temperature profiles from the HMS CHALLENGER in the Antarctic, North Atlantic and other locations from 1873-02-15 to 1876-05-06 (NCEI Accession 0126754)
From 1872 to 1876, the HMS Challenger sailed around the world studying ocean features such as ocean temperature and chemistry, wildlife, and sounding ...
SPLASH Field Study; NOAA GML Brush Creek & Kettle Ponds Snow Depth Estimates (NCEI Accession 0302850)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
Iron_Soil_Moisture_Uncalibrated_2013_2017
These data are the complete data set from installation through Dec 31, 2017 for AGCI's interactive Roaring Fork Observation Network (iRON). The networ...
Iron_Soil Moisture_Calibrated_2013 To 2018
*** An error has been caught in time codes. The time codes currently read GMT-5:00. The CORRECT time code is GMT-7:00 for all datasets . Files with Fu...
Iron_Soil Moisture_Calibrated_2013 To 2018
*** An error has been caught in time codes. The time codes currently read GMT-5:00. The CORRECT time code is GMT-7:00 for all datasets .*** These data...
Iron_Soil_Moisture_Uncalibrated_2013_2017
These data are the complete data set from installation through Dec 31, 2017 for AGCI's interactive Roaring Fork Observation Network (iRON). The networ...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Videos
This child item contains the raw videos captured by small Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (sUAS) at each field site. It also includes a summary file with ...
2017 Vessel Transit Counts by Type
Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are a navigation safety device that transmits and monitors the location and characteristics of many vessels in ...
2015 Vessel Transit Counts by Type
Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are a navigation safety device that transmits and monitors the location and characteristics of many vessels in ...
2016 Vessel Transit Counts by Type
Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are a navigation safety device that transmits and monitors the location and characteristics of many vessels in ...
Surface Temperature Anomalies Derived from Night Time ASTER Data Corrected for Solar and Topographic Effects, Dolores County
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation...
2013 Pleasure Craft and Sailing Vessel Density
Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are a navigation safety device that transmits and monitors the location and characteristics of many vessels in ...
SPLASH Field Study; Continuous snow temperature profiles from the Snow Ice Mass Balance Apparatus (SIMBA) level 1 Raw, Nov2022-Jun2023 (NCEI Accession 0304095)
Raw (Level 1) measurements from the Snow Ice Mass Balance Apparatus (SIMBA) deployed at the Avery Picnic site (~ 38°58.345' N, 106°59.811' W) during t...
SPLASH Field Study; NOAA GML Surface Radiation Budget and Near-Surface Meteorology Data at Kettle Ponds and Brush Creek, Colorado (NCEI Accession 0302673)
From fall 2021 through summer 2023, NOAA and research partners conducted a field study (SPLASH - the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and ...
NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Woodhouse 2003 Gunnison River Basin Snow Water Equivalent Reconstruction
This archived Paleoclimatology Study is available from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), under the World Data Service (W...
Surface Temperature Anomalies Derived from Night Time ASTER Data Corrected for Solar and Topographic Effects, Archuleta County
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation...
Surface Temperature Anomalies Derived from Night Time ASTER Data Corrected for Solar and Topographic Effects, Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation...
Iron_Soil_Moisture_Uncalibrated_2013_2017
These data are the complete data set from installation through Dec 31, 2017 for AGCI's interactive Roaring Fork Observation Network (iRON). The networ...
Iron_Soil Moisture_Calibrated_2013 To 2018
*** An error has been caught in time codes. The time codes currently read GMT-5:00. The CORRECT time code is GMT-7:00 for all datasets . Files with Fu...
Iron_Soil_Moisture_Uncalibrated_2013_2017
These data are the complete data set from installation through Dec 31, 2017 for AGCI's interactive Roaring Fork Observation Network (iRON). The networ...
Iron_Soil_Moisture_Uncalibrated_2013_2017
These data are the complete data set from installation through Dec 31, 2017 for AGCI's interactive Roaring Fork Observation Network (iRON). The networ...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Radar Spectra
This child item contains Doppler radar velocimetry spectra measurements for each field site where the radars were deployed. Each field site is abbrevi...
Surface Temperature Anomalies Derived from Night Time ASTER Data Corrected for Solar and Topographic Effects, Dolores County
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation...
Surface Temperature Anomalies Derived from Night Time ASTER Data Corrected for Solar and Topographic Effects, Archuleta County
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation...
Surface Temperature Anomalies Derived from Night Time ASTER Data Corrected for Solar and Topographic Effects, Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado
This map shows areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation...
Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data
This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another rem...
SPLASH Field Study; CLAMPS2 Doppler Lidar VAD Data (NCEI Accession 0304717)
These files contain 24-hour periods of data collected from the CLAMPS2 Halo Streamline XR+ Doppler lidar. The Doppler lidar conducts regular conical s...
NESDIS 14 km sea surface temperature for North America, 1993 to 2016
This product presents local sea surface temperatures (degrees C). It is a composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution SST observations collec...
iRON_Soil Moisture_Calibrated
** Error has been found in Glenwood Springs station data. The 8in depth soil moisture sensor was mislabeled as the 40in depth sensor and vice versa fo...
SnowEx20 SnowEx Grand Mesa Automated Meteorological and Snow Station Observations 2016-2021, version 1
Grand Mesa Study Plot
Cleaned (quality checked) and continuous hourly records of snow energy and mass balance variables from Grand Mesa Study Plot (GMSP). GMSP is located i...
Unoccupied Aerial System-mounted image velocimetry and Doppler velocity radar data for computation of river velocity and discharge collected at seven locations in Colorado in 2023: Videos
This child item contains the raw videos captured by small Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (sUAS) at each field site. It also includes a summary file with ...
The NOAA NCEI Global Marine Microplastics Data Collection (1972-present)
Microplastics (i.e., plastics measuring less than 5mm) pollution is a growing problem affecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, aquatic life, ...
Grand Mesa Study Plot
Cleaned (quality checked) and continuous hourly records of snow energy and mass balance variables from Grand Mesa Study Plot (GMSP). GMSP is located i...
NESDIS Global 50-km twice weekly sea surface temperature (SST) product, 2001 to 2016
Product shows global sea surface temperatures in degrees C. It is a composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution Global SST Observations and i...
Grand Mesa Study Plot
Cleaned (quality checked) and continuous hourly records of snow energy and mass balance variables from Grand Mesa Study Plot (GMSP). GMSP is located i...
Biological, chemical, and physical data from the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network from 2001-09-13 to 2013-03-07 (NCEI Accession 0117942)
The Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) is a part of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). The PMN was created as an outreach pro...
SnowEx20 SnowEx Grand Mesa Automated Meteorological and Snow Station Observations 2016-2021, version 1
Grand Mesa Study Plot
Cleaned (quality checked) and continuous hourly records of snow energy and mass balance variables from Grand Mesa Study Plot (GMSP). GMSP is located i...
AmeriFlux US-UR4 Gunnison - UCRB
This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-UR4 Gunnison - UCRB. Site Description - This site is located in Gunnison, Colora...
SunJammer Technology Demonstration
The Sunjammer Project is a NASA funded contract to L’Garde Inc. to fly a solar sail demonstration for a period of approximately one year. L’Garde is a...
United States Coast Pilot (volume 1 through 9)
The United States Coast Pilot is a series of 9 nautical books that cover a wide variety of information important to navigators of U.S. coastal and int...
NESDIS Global 100 km sea surface temperature (SST) product, 1993 - 2016
Product shows global sea surface temperatures in degrees C. It is a composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution Global SST Observations and i...
NESDIS 14 km sea surface temperature for North America, 1993 to 2016
This product presents local sea surface temperatures (degrees C). It is a composite gridded-image derived from 8-km resolution SST observations collec...