diff -r 000000000000 -r 8306d3538de9 observed/lai/0_modis_landcover_readme.txt --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/observed/lai/0_modis_landcover_readme.txt Mon Jan 26 22:31:32 2009 -0500 @@ -0,0 +1,168 @@ +################################################################################ +# MODIS Global Land Cover Classifications at 0.25, 0.5 and 1 degree (2000-2001)# +################################################################################ + +The files in this directory were provided by Drs. Mark Friedl and Alan Strahler, +and Mr. John Hodges from the Department of Geography at Boston University. These +are global, coarse resolution (1/4, 1/2 and 1 degree spatial resolutions) land +cover classifications (dominant type, classification confidence and fractional +cover) generated using a full year of MODerate Resolution Imaging +Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data covering the period from October 2000 to October +2001. These land cover products use the classification scheme proposed by the +International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). Original 1km MODIS data and +land cover products are available from the EROS Data Center Distributed Active +Archive Center (DAAC) or from Boston University at +http://geography.bu.edu/landcover/index.html + +The objective of the MODIS Land Cover Product is to provide a suite of land +cover types useful to global system science modelers by exploiting the +information content of MODIS data in the spectral, temporal, spatial, and +directional domains. The MODIS Land Cover Product describes the geographic +distribution of the 17 IGBP land cover types based on an annual time series of +observations (See below for a list of the cover types included). Confidence +assessments of the classifications are also provided in a separate layer. The +data set also provides the fraction of each of the 17 classes within the coarser +resolution cells. These data sets have been adjusted to match the land/water +boundaries and fractions of the ISLSCP2 land/water masks. The user should always +refer to the full data set documentation and/or the reference below for more +information on data processing. + +Please cite the following publication when these data are used: + +Friedl M.A., D.K. McIver, J.C.F. Hodges, X.Y. Zhang, D. Muchoney, A.H. Strahler, +C.E. Woodcock, S. Gopal, A. Schneider, A. Cooper, A. Baccini, F. Gao, and C. +Schaaf, Global Land Cover Mapping from MODIS: Algorithms and Early Results, +Remote Sensing of Environment 83(1-2):287-302. + +Any problems encountered with the data set should be reported to Eric Brown de +Colstoun at ericbdc@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov + +############################################################################## + +File Name Convention +-------------------- +The data sets in this directory are provided at three spatial resolutions of +0.25, 0.5 and 1 degrees lat./long. For each spatial resolution there is a land +cover type classification layer (with numbers from 0 to 17), a classifier +confidence assessment layer, in percent, and 17 associated layers that provide +the fraction, from 0 to 100, of each land cover type per cell. The land cover +type files are named "modis_landcover_class_XX.asc", where XX is qd, hd, or 1d, +denoting a spatial resolution of 1/4, 1/2 or 1 degrees, respectively. The +classifier confidence layer is named "modis_landcover_conf_XX.asc", where XX is +the same as above. The fractional files are called "modis_landcover_XX_cZZ.asc", +where XX is the same as above, and ZZ is a number from 00 to 17 which represents +the land cover type code as described below. As an example, the file named +"modis_landcover_qd_c02.asc" is the fraction of Evergreen Broadleaf Forest at a +quarter degree spatial resolution. This file is associated with the +"modis_landcover_class_qd.asc" land cover type file and the +"modis_landcover_conf_qd.asc" classifier confidence file. + +############################################################################## + +ASCII File Format +------------------ +All of the files in the ISLSCP Initiative II data collection are in the ASCII, +or text format. The file format consists of numerical fields of varying length, +which are delimited by a single space and arranged in columns and rows. The +values in the land cover class type and classifier confidence files are written +as integers from 0 to 17 and 0 to 255, respectively. In the classifier +confidence files a value of 254 is assigned to all water bodies while a value of +255 is assigned to cells with no data. All values in the land cover fraction +files are written as real numbers. + +The files at different spatial resolutions each contain the following numbers of +columns and rows: + One degree: 360 columns by 180 rows + 1/2 degree: 720 columns by 360 rows + 1/4 degree: 1440 columns by 720 rows + +All files are gridded to a common equal-angle lat/long grid, where the +coordinates of the upper left corner of the files are located at 180oW, 90oN and +the lower right corner coordinates are located at 180oE, 90oS. Data in the files +are ordered from North to South and from West to East beginning at 180 degrees +West and 90 degrees North. + +The data files are PKZip compressed. On UNIX, they can be decompressed using the +"unzip -a" command. On Windows, they can be decompressed using WinZip or other +PKZip software. On the Macintosh, they can be decompressed using Stuffit +Expander. + +################################################################################ + +Land Cover Type Codes and Definitions +------------------------------------- +The following 17 IGBP classes are used. + +0 = Water Bodies: Oceans, seas, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Can be either fresh + or salt water bodies. Note that this class has not been mapped directly from + MODIS data in this provisional release. It is overlaid from a Digital Elevation + Model (DEM) generated for the MODIS processing stream at the Jet Propulsion + Laboratory (JPL). This has been adjusted to match the ISLSCP2 land/water masks. + +1= Evergreen Needleleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Almost all trees remain green all + year. Canopy is never without green foliage. + +2= Evergreen Broadleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with percent canopy + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Almost all trees remain green year all + year. Canopy is never without green foliage. + +3= Deciduous Needleleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of seasonal needleleaf tree + communities with an annual cycle of leaf-on and leaf-off periods. + +4= Deciduous Broadleaf Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy + cover >60% and height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of seasonal broadleaf tree + communities with an annual cycle of leaf-on and leaf-off periods. + +5= Mixed Forests: Lands dominated by trees with a percent canopy cover >60% and + height exceeding 2 meters. Consists of tree communities with interspersed + mixtures or mosaics of the other four forest cover types. None of the forest + types exceeds 60% of landscape. + +6= Closed Shrublands: Lands with woody vegetation less than 2 meters tall and + with shrub canopy cover is >60%. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen or + deciduous. + +7= Open Shrublands: Lands with woody vegetation less than 2 meters tall and with + shrub canopy cover is between 10-60%. The shrub foliage can be either evergreen + or deciduous. + +8= Woody Savannas: Lands with herbaceous and other understory systems and forest + canopy cover of 30-60%. The forest cover height exceeds 2 meters. + +9= Savannas: Lands with herbaceous and other understory systems and forest canopy + cover of 10-30%. The forest cover height exceeds 2 meters. + +10=Grasslands: Lands with herbaceous types of cover. Tree and shrub cover is + less than 10%. + +11=Permanent Wetlands: Lands with a permanent mixture of surface water and + herbaceous or woody vegetation. The vegetation can be present in either salt, + brackish, or fresh water. + +12=Croplands: Lands covered with temporary crops followed by harvest and a bare + soil period (e.g., single and multiple cropping systems). Note that perennial + woody crops will be classified as the appropriate forest or shrub land cover + type. + +13=Urban and Built-Up: Land primarily covered by buildings and other man-made + structures. Note that this class has not been mapped directly from MODIS data in + this provisional release. It is overlaid from the populated places layer from + the EDC Global Land Cover Characterization project (GLCC, + http://edcdaac.usgs.gov/glcc/glcc.html). + +14=Cropland/Natural Vegetation Mosaic: Lands with a mosaic of croplands, + forests, shrublands, and grasslands in which no one component comprises more + than 60% of the landscape. + +15=Permanent Snow and Ice: Lands under snow and/or ice cover throughout the year. + +16=Barren or Sparsely Vegetated: Lands with exposed soil, sand, rocks, or snow + that never has more than 10% vegetated cover during any time of the year. + +17=Unclassified: Artifacts due to discrepancies between the EDC GLCC water mask + and the JPL DEM. Found in coastal zones and mid-ocean islands in this + provisional release. + +################################################################################