Global Land Survey (GLS)

The GLS2005 data set is now essentially complete. Users may download individual scenes from GLOVIS, or obtain the bulk data set on portable disk through the UMD Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF). In June GLCF will make available an order page so that epochs or the entire collection can be provided.

Approximately 140 images remain to be processed, primarily over Indonesia and Brazil. These remaining images will be made available through GLOVIS as they become available.

EO-1 ALI imagery over small islands and reefs is a key part of the GLS2005. These preprocessed ALI data will also be available through the GLOVIS interface.

Work is now focused on the GLS2010 data set. Landsat-5 images are currently being acquired by campaign stations in South Africa, Kenya, Yucatan, and Russia. These campaign stations will acquire imagery during 2009-2010. The complete GLS2010, combining data from Landsat-5, Landsat-7, ALI, and other international sources, will be made available by the end of 2011.

The GLS2005 dataset may be cited as:

"USGS and NASA, 2009, Global Land Survey 2005, Sioux Falls, SD USA: USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS)"

Citations for the generation of the dataset are as follows:

Gutman, G., Byrnes, R., Masek, J., Covington, S., Justice, C., Franks, S., and R. Headley, Towards monitoring land cover and land-use changes at a global scale: The Global Land Survey 2005, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 74, 6-10, 2008.

Franks, S., Masek, J.G., Headley, R.M.K., Gasch, J., and Arvidson, T., Large Area Scene Selection Interface (LASSI). Methodology for selecting Landsat imagery for the Global Land Survey 2005, in press Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing.

Scene selections for GLS2008 are completed. Landsat-7 processing will be complete by October 31, and all GLS2005 ETM+ images are available through GLOVIS. Global Landsat-5 processing will begin in November and is expected to be complete by the end of December. Landsat-5 TM data has been received from International Cooperators. In addition, all Landsat-7 ETM+ data in the US archive (1999-present) is now available at no charge from USGS. Planning for GLS2010 is underway in coordination with the CEOS Land Surface Imaging (LSI) Constellation. GLS2010 is intended as an international initiative using multiple sources of moderate-resolution imagery, in addition to global Landsat coverage.

Landsat-7 ETM+ data for Africa will be posted in March, followed by data for Eurasia in April.
The GLS2005 Landsat-7 ETM+ data for North America are now available for download from GLOVIS. Select Collection, Landsat Decadal, GLS2005. Some areas of North America will be filled using Landsat-5 TM data and will be made available in early fall of 2008. In addition, approximately 250 Landsat-7 ETM+ images are currently being reselected and reprocessed. These images will be available online at the end of March 2008. Most of the Landsat-7 ETM+ images have been gap-filled using multiple images from the same season. Where that has not been possible due to cloud cover, each SLC-off image is available for download separately. Please note that while every attempt has been made to provide complete coverage for each scene, some residual gaps (up to ~10% of the image area) may remain. The GLS2005 team would appreciate any feedback you have on the quality of the products or the project in general. Please email comments to glsinfo@hermes.geog.umd.edu.

The North America portion of the Global Land Survey 2000 (GLS2000) data has been released through Earth Explorer and GLOVIS. The GLS2000 data will continue to populate through May, when the entire globe will be available.
Reprocessed GLS2000 imagery for North America has been delivered from MDA Federal to USGS EROS. Additional continents will follow during the winter, with the older Geocover data sets (1975, 1990) scheduled for reprocessing by Summer 2008.
GLS2005 Landsat-7 imagery for North America is being processed during January 2008. Data products will be released as they are created, starting in late January. Check GLOVIS for products availability.
Scene selections for Africa are posted here. Please review the timing and quality of these proposed acquisitions for your land cover monitoring needs, and provide feedback to: glsinfo@hermes.geog.umd.edu. For additional information regarding scene selection procedures, see LASSI.

Current Release Schedule:
North America (Landsat-7 component): Feb 15, 2008
Rest of Globe (Landsat-7 component): June 30, 2008
Rest of Globe (Landsat-5 component): Dec 31, 2008
Scene selection for North America and Africa are currently ongoing. Check back shortly for an online forum to provide feedback on the GLS scene selections for these regions.
Geocover imagery from 1975, 1990, and 2000 are being reprocessed using SRTM digital elevation models and improved geodetic control. The intent is to have a "best and final" geodetic control set for GLS as well as other Landsat-based map products.
GLS Data Holdings: USGS EROS has received Landsat-5 imagery from campaign stations in Irkusk (Russia), Moscow (Russia), Kiruna (Sweden), Maspalomas (Spain), and Magadan (Russia). Operations at Chetumal (Mexico) and Malindi (Kenya) are expected to start soon. Some 42,000 scenes from these temporary stations have already been received by USGS, with about 12,000 of these having less than 10% cloud cover.