1.1 --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
1.2 +++ b/observed/lai/0_modis_landcover_readme.txt Mon Jan 26 22:31:32 2009 -0500
1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
1.4 +################################################################################
1.5 +# MODIS Global Land Cover Classifications at 0.25, 0.5 and 1 degree (2000-2001)#
1.6 +################################################################################
1.7 +
1.8 +The files in this directory were provided by Drs. Mark Friedl and Alan Strahler,
1.9 +and Mr. John Hodges from the Department of Geography at Boston University. These
1.10 +are global, coarse resolution (1/4, 1/2 and 1 degree spatial resolutions) land
1.11 +cover classifications (dominant type, classification confidence and fractional
1.12 +cover) generated using a full year of MODerate Resolution Imaging
1.13 +Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data covering the period from October 2000 to October
1.14 +2001. These land cover products use the classification scheme proposed by the
1.15 +International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). Original 1km MODIS data and
1.16 +land cover products are available from the EROS Data Center Distributed Active
1.17 +Archive Center (DAAC) or from Boston University at
1.18 +http://geography.bu.edu/landcover/index.html
1.19 +
1.20 +The objective of the MODIS Land Cover Product is to provide a suite of land
1.21 +cover types useful to global system science modelers by exploiting the
1.22 +information content of MODIS data in the spectral, temporal, spatial, and
1.23 +directional domains. The MODIS Land Cover Product describes the geographic
1.24 +distribution of the 17 IGBP land cover types based on an annual time series of
1.25 +observations (See below for a list of the cover types included). Confidence
1.26 +assessments of the classifications are also provided in a separate layer. The
1.27 +data set also provides the fraction of each of the 17 classes within the coarser
1.28 +resolution cells. These data sets have been adjusted to match the land/water
1.29 +boundaries and fractions of the ISLSCP2 land/water masks. The user should always
1.30 +refer to the full data set documentation and/or the reference below for more
1.31 +information on data processing.
1.32 +
1.33 +Please cite the following publication when these data are used:
1.34 +
1.35 +Friedl M.A., D.K. McIver, J.C.F. Hodges, X.Y. Zhang, D. Muchoney, A.H. Strahler,
1.36 +C.E. Woodcock, S. Gopal, A. Schneider, A. Cooper, A. Baccini, F. Gao, and C.
1.37 +Schaaf, Global Land Cover Mapping from MODIS: Algorithms and Early Results,
1.38 +Remote Sensing of Environment 83(1-2):287-302.
1.39 +
1.40 +Any problems encountered with the data set should be reported to Eric Brown de
1.41 +Colstoun at ericbdc@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov
1.42 +
1.43 +##############################################################################
1.44 +
1.45 +File Name Convention
1.46 +--------------------
1.47 +The data sets in this directory are provided at three spatial resolutions of
1.48 +0.25, 0.5 and 1 degrees lat./long. For each spatial resolution there is a land
1.49 +cover type classification layer (with numbers from 0 to 17), a classifier
1.50 +confidence assessment layer, in percent, and 17 associated layers that provide
1.51 +the fraction, from 0 to 100, of each land cover type per cell. The land cover
1.52 +type files are named "modis_landcover_class_XX.asc", where XX is qd, hd, or 1d,
1.53 +denoting a spatial resolution of 1/4, 1/2 or 1 degrees, respectively. The
1.54 +classifier confidence layer is named "modis_landcover_conf_XX.asc", where XX is
1.55 +the same as above. The fractional files are called "modis_landcover_XX_cZZ.asc",
1.56 +where XX is the same as above, and ZZ is a number from 00 to 17 which represents
1.57 +the land cover type code as described below. As an example, the file named
1.58 +"modis_landcover_qd_c02.asc" is the fraction of Evergreen Broadleaf Forest at a
1.59 +quarter degree spatial resolution. This file is associated with the
1.60 +"modis_landcover_class_qd.asc" land cover type file and the
1.61 +"modis_landcover_conf_qd.asc" classifier confidence file.
1.62 +
1.63 +##############################################################################
1.64 +
1.65 +ASCII File Format
1.66 +------------------
1.67 +All of the files in the ISLSCP Initiative II data collection are in the ASCII,
1.68 +or text format. The file format consists of numerical fields of varying length,
1.69 +which are delimited by a single space and arranged in columns and rows. The
1.70 +values in the land cover class type and classifier confidence files are written
1.71 +as integers from 0 to 17 and 0 to 255, respectively. In the classifier
1.72 +confidence files a value of 254 is assigned to all water bodies while a value of
1.73 +255 is assigned to cells with no data. All values in the land cover fraction
1.74 +files are written as real numbers.
1.75 +
1.76 +The files at different spatial resolutions each contain the following numbers of
1.77 +columns and rows:
1.78 + One degree: 360 columns by 180 rows
1.79 + 1/2 degree: 720 columns by 360 rows
1.80 + 1/4 degree: 1440 columns by 720 rows
1.81 +
1.82 +All files are gridded to a common equal-angle lat/long grid, where the
1.83 +coordinates of the upper left corner of the files are located at 180oW, 90oN and
1.84 +the lower right corner coordinates are located at 180oE, 90oS. Data in the files
1.85 +are ordered from North to South and from West to East beginning at 180 degrees
1.86 +West and 90 degrees North.
1.87 +
1.88 +The data files are PKZip compressed. On UNIX, they can be decompressed using the
1.89 +"unzip -a" command. On Windows, they can be decompressed using WinZip or other
1.90 +PKZip software. On the Macintosh, they can be decompressed using Stuffit
1.91 +Expander.
1.92 +
1.93 +################################################################################
1.94 +
1.95 +Land Cover Type Codes and Definitions
1.96 +-------------------------------------
1.97 +The following 17 IGBP classes are used.
1.98 +
1.99 +0 = Water Bodies: Oceans, seas, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Can be either fresh
1.100 + or salt water bodies. Note that this class has not been mapped directly from
1.101 + MODIS data in this provisional release. It is overlaid from a Digital Elevation
1.102 + Model (DEM) generated for the MODIS processing stream at the Jet Propulsion
1.103 + Laboratory (JPL). This has been adjusted to match the ISLSCP2 land/water masks.
1.104 +
1.105 +1= Evergreen Needleleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy
1.106 + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Almost all trees remain green all
1.107 + year. Canopy is never without green foliage.
1.108 +
1.109 +2= Evergreen Broadleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with percent canopy
1.110 + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Almost all trees remain green year all
1.111 + year. Canopy is never without green foliage.
1.112 +
1.113 +3= Deciduous Needleleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy
1.114 + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of seasonal needleleaf tree
1.115 + communities with an annual cycle of leaf-on and leaf-off periods.
1.116 +
1.117 +4= Deciduous Broadleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy
1.118 + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of seasonal broadleaf tree
1.119 + communities with an annual cycle of leaf-on and leaf-off periods.
1.120 +
1.121 +5= Mixed Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover >60% and
1.122 + height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of tree communities with interspersed
1.123 + mixtures or mosaics of the other four forest cover types. None of the forest
1.124 + types exceeds 60% of landscape.
1.125 +
1.126 +6= Closed Shrublands: Lands with woody vegetation less than 2 meters tall and
1.127 + with shrub canopy cover is >60%. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen or
1.128 + deciduous.
1.129 +
1.130 +7= Open Shrublands: Lands with woody vegetation less than 2 meters tall and with
1.131 + shrub canopy cover is between 10-60%. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen
1.132 + or deciduous.
1.133 +
1.134 +8= Woody Savannas: Lands with herbaceous and other understory systems and forest
1.135 + canopy cover of 30-60%. The forest cover height exceeds 2 meters.
1.136 +
1.137 +9= Savannas: Lands with herbaceous and other understory systems and forest canopy
1.138 + cover of 10-30%. The forest cover height exceeds 2 meters.
1.139 +
1.140 +10=Grasslands: Lands with herbaceous types of cover. Tree and shrub cover is
1.141 + less than 10%.
1.142 +
1.143 +11=Permanent Wetlands: Lands with a permanent mixture of surface water and
1.144 + herbaceous or woody vegetation. The vegetation can be present in either salt,
1.145 + brackish, or fresh water.
1.146 +
1.147 +12=Croplands: Lands covered with temporary crops followed by harvest and a bare
1.148 + soil period (e.g., single and multiple cropping systems). Note that perennial
1.149 + woody crops will be classified as the appropriate forest or shrub land cover
1.150 + type.
1.151 +
1.152 +13=Urban and Built-Up: Land primarily covered by buildings and other man-made
1.153 + structures. Note that this class has not been mapped directly from MODIS data in
1.154 + this provisional release. It is overlaid from the populated places layer from
1.155 + the EDC Global Land Cover Characterization project (GLCC,
1.156 + http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/glcc/glcc.html).
1.157 +
1.158 +14=Cropland/Natural Vegetation Mosaic: Lands with a mosaic of croplands,
1.159 + forests, shrublands, and grasslands in which no one component comprises more
1.160 + than 60% of the landscape.
1.161 +
1.162 +15=Permanent Snow and Ice: Lands under snow and/or ice cover throughout the year.
1.163 +
1.164 +16=Barren or Sparsely Vegetated: Lands with exposed soil, sand, rocks, or snow
1.165 + that never has more than 10% vegetated cover during any time of the year.
1.166 +
1.167 +17=Unclassified: Artifacts due to discrepancies between the EDC GLCC water mask
1.168 + and the JPL DEM. Found in coastal zones and mid-ocean islands in this
1.169 + provisional release.
1.170 +
1.171 +################################################################################