Categories

Locations of visitors to this page

Global Geospatial Data

Note: Please email us if any of these resources are dead links.

Resources provided by The EDEN Data Archive – Environmental Research Group Oxford

Agriculture, Food Security and Development

Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation

Climate

Geology

Other Data Warehouses and Links

Population Infrastructure Topography and Administration Data

Remote Sensing and Imagery

Statistics

Vegetation, Soils, Hydrology and Land Use

———————————————————————————————————————-

EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL DATA

The Institute for Environment and Sustainability at the Joint Research Centre hosts a large number of unique scientific databases. Find below a short description of the most relevant public databases with their respective links:

The European Geo-Portal

The European Geo-Portal is Europe’s Internet access point to the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE). The Geo-Portal is established on standards and specifications from European, International and industry consensus building processes. Where appropriate and possible, the Geo-Portal will link to national portals and to sector specific data and services. All connections to services in the Member States, Accession Countries and participating organisations are based on these standards and specifications. The Geo-Portal does not store or maintain the data. These are distributed in many national and thematic servers across Europe. Each server is maintained by the organisation responsible for the data. The Geo-Portal publishes and provides access to metadata and data, and allows the delivery, viewing and analysis of geographic information. The user is able to discover and view the maps of his/her choice letting the Geo-Portal contact the necessary servers and combine the data.

The European Soil Portal

The European Soil Portal has been created as a virtual place in order to collect all the relevant information regarding soils in European level. Also it has been a useful utility for the European Soil Bureau Network in order to promote its activities. All the activities in the Soil Portal follow the European tendencies to harmonize different spatially explicit databases and various sources of soil information. The INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) initiative originates from the difficulty to identify, access and use available spatial information in Europe. The implementation of the INSPIRE initiative within soil information is a major challenge of the Soil Portal.

European Soil Map Server

The Soil Geographical Database of Eurasia at Scale 1:1,000,000 is part of the European Soil Informaton System (EUSIS). It is the resulting product of a collaborative project involving all the European Union and neighbouring countries. It is a simplified representation of the diversity and spatial variability of the soil coverage. The methodology used to differentiate and name the main soil types is based on the terminology of the F.A.O. legend for the Soil Map of the World at Scale 1:5,000,000. This terminology has been refined and adapted to take account of the specificities of the landscapes in Eurasia. It is itself founded on the distinction of the main pedogenetic processes leading to soil differentiation: brunification, lessivage, podzolisation, hydromorphy, etc. The database contains a list of Soil Typological Units. Besides the soil names they represent, these units are described by variables (attributes) specifying the nature and properties of the soils: for example the texture, the water regime, the stoniness, etc.

Multiscale EUropean Soil Information System (MEUSIS)

JRC-IES is developing the prototype of a Multiscale European Soil Information System (MEUSIS). This prototype has been developed for the Alpine region and can be consulted on this web site. The information is given based on a reference grid (pixel based approach) and can be accessed on different scales and levels of detail. Based on the experiences gained it is planned to extend the prototype towards other regions of Europe.

Soil Erosion Risk Estimates (PESERA)

Soil erosion by water is a widespread problem throughout Europe. PESERA (Pan European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment) has been created in order to design a model and to handle spatial and temporal data of variable quality and detail and to enable the impacts of agricultural policy, land use and climate changes to be assessed and monitored across Europe. PESERA uses a process-based and spatially distributed model to quantify soil erosion by water and assess its risk across Europe. The Soil Portal provides the contents of the CD-ROM related to Soil erosion risk in Europe and the results of the PESERA project. It is possible to view in detail the soil erosion estimates data. The soil erosion estimates (t/ha/yr) have been calculated by applying the PESERA GRID model at 1km, using the European Soil Database, CORINE land cover, climate data and a Digital Elevation Model. The resulting estimates of sediment loss are from erosion by water. The PESERA model produces results that depend crucially on land cover as identified by CORINE and the accuracy of the interpolated meteorological data.

Soil Organic Carbon Content

At the European level, there is a serious lack of geo-referenced, measured and harmonised data on soil organic carbon available from systematic sampling programmes. The European Soil Database, at a scale of 1:1,000,000, is the only comprehensive source of data on the soils of Europe harmonised according to a standard international classification (FAO). At the present time, the most homogeneous and comprehensive data on the organic carbon/matter content of European soils remain those that can be extracted and/or derived from the European Soil Database in combination with associated databases on land cover, climate and topography. The Soil Portal makes available the maps of organic carbon content (%) in the surface horizon of soils in Europe. The data are in ESRI GRID format and are available as an ASCII raster file or in native ESRI GRID format.

Image 2000 Database

The I&CLC2000 (IMAGE2000 and CLC2000) project is a joint project between the European Environment Agency and the Joint Research Centre for the updating of the European Land Cover database (CORINE Land Cover). It provides a snap shot of Europe for the year 2000 (CLC2000), using Landsat 7 imagery to create the multi-purpose spatial reference of Europe (IMAGE2000). From this site, you can access the archive of imagery from the Image2000 project. As a registered user, you will be able to download via ftp the individual scenes you select, which can then be used in your own application.

River and Catchments Database for Europe (CCM)

The River and Catchments database for Europe (CCM – Catchment Characterisation and Modelling) responds to the need for a database of European river networks and catchments, in order to facilitate sustainable management of water and land resources.

Drainage networks and associated drainage basins form complex functional entities not only for hydrological and environmental processes. This has been recognized in European legislation such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD). In order to study the underlying processes and cause-effect relationships at regional to European scales, comprehensive digital data of river networks, drainage basins (catchments) and their characteristics are required. The JRC’s CCM activity responded to this need through the development of a pan-European database of river networks and catchments. The first version of CCM was published in 2003. In July 2007 a geographically extended and substantially improved CCM Version 2.0 was released. This product is based on elevation data derived from the 100 meters resolution SRTM data-source. They provide a first comprehensive European dataset of comparable quality from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains and from the North Cape to the Mediterranean. The portal allows you to download the datasets and extensive documentation on its development and characteristics.

European Drought Observatory

This first test version of a European Drought Observatory provides European-wide data on drought relevant products such as precipitation, soil moisture, and photosynthetic activity of the vegetation cover. Continuous simulations within the European Flood Alert System (EFAS) produce daily soil moisture maps of Europe. This information provides an instantaneous image of the current modelled situation of the water content. Meteorological input information is derived from measured and spatially interpolated meteorological point data provided by the JRC Institute for Protection and Security of the Citizen. Due to the reception via the Global Telecommunication System of the World Meteorological Organization and further processing the data received is typically one to two days old. Information on soil moisture is presented in the form of soil suction (pF) values that commonly range between 1.0 for very wet conditions up to 5.0 for very dry soils. The pF value describes the force which plants must apply in order to extract water from the soil. Precipitation is presented in the form the Standardised Precipitation Index, representing the deviation of the actual amount of precipitation over a given period as compared to the statistically expected amount. Data on the photosynthetic activity of the vegetation is provided by the FAPAR data portal described below.

European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS)

The JRC has developed the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). EFFIS is aimed to provide relevant information for the protection of forests against fire in Europe addressing pre-fire and post-fire conditions. On the pre-fire phase, EFFIS is focused on the development of systems to provide forest fire risk forecast and of new integrated forest fire risk indicators. Currently, the dynamic forest fire risk forecast indices are available on the EFFIS web site and sent to the Member States Services daily from the 1st of May until the 31st of October. On the post-fire phase, EFFIS is focused on the estimation of annual damage caused by forest fires in southern EU.

Photovoltaic Potential Estimation Database

The Photovoltaic Potential Estimation Database can be used by every citizen to calculate an estimation of photovoltaic potential, depending on the location in Europe, the inclination and orientation of the solar modules, and the installed peak PV power. The same can be done for solar irradiation and solar irradiance. You can also search photovoltaic potential by regions, the database giving you recommendations e.g. on the optimum inclination angle of the solar modules.

Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR)

The Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) is an indicator of the state and productivity of vegetation and has been recognized as a fundamental surface parameter for environmental studies by international organizations, like the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). This quantity represents the fraction of the solar energy which is absorbed by vegetation and therefore plays the role of a battery during the plant photosynthetic process. The JRC FAPAR product can be used either as a high-performance indicator of the presence and state of the vegetation cover, or as a quantitative estimate of one of the main factors controlling its productivity. JRC-IES aims to develop the mathematical algorithms to retrieve this fundamental quantity from space remote sensing data and to deliver high level products to the scientific community.

Global Land Cover 2000 Database

The Global Land Cover 2000 Database shows for the first time ever the complete land cover of the entire planet with a 1km resolution. The project was carried out in collaboration with over 30 research teams from around the world. Each defined region was mapped by local experts, which guaranteed an accurate classification, based on local knowledge. Following an easy registration procedure the data can be downloaded free of cost.

Global Burnt Area 2000 Database

Over large regions of the globe, fires are known to contribute significantly to the injection of gases and aerosols into the atmosphere, and to be a major disturbance to the vegetation cover. Both the scientific community and the policy makers are looking for reliable and quantitative information on the magnitude and spatial distribution of biomass burning. The Global Burnt Area 2000 Database shows maps and statistics of the areas burnt globally for the year 2000, using 1km resolution satellite imagery provided by the SPOT-Vegetation system. Regional and global products for the year 2000 as well as monthly products can be downloaded at no cost. The GBA2000 products can be observed through an Internet Map Server hosted by UNEP, providing the possibility to zoom into particular areas.

The Environmental Marine Information System

The Environmental Marine Information System (EMIS) offers the possibility of providing spatial and temporal information supporting the assessment and monitoring of European regional seas like eutrophication indicators and related physical and biological marine variables (e.g. sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration, mixed layer depth, primary production, etc.) derived from satellite remote sensing and/or numerical modelling. The information system provides a wide set of tools which allows to navigate, browse and interrogate the map in different ways. This allows the user to perform its own assessment of the status and trends in the European regional seas or in a marine sub-area of its choice. The further developments of the system will also seek synergies with the advancements of the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) which does not include, at the moment, marine information.

Global Monitoring of Oceanic Resources

The objective of this contribution to GMES is to monitor oceanic primary production (PP) together with aerosols distribution and properties. The aerosols products presented are the optical thickness at 865 nm (Tau_865) and the Angstrom exponent (A_510) used to derive the aerosol optical properties over a large spectral window. Global estimates of primary production are presented together with photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), chlorophyll pigment concentration and sea surface temperature (SST).

SeaWiFS Dataset

SeaWiFS was successfully launched on August 1, 1997, and has been providing ocean colour data continuously since Sept. 1997. JRC-IES has developed a software package for processing SeaWiFS data from Level-1A to Level-3. Over marine surfaces standard products are retrieved such as water-leaving radiance (6 channels), aerosol radiance and optical thickness at 865 nm, chlorophyll a and sediment concentrations and diffuse attenuation coefficient. The products for terrestrial applications result from an Optimized Vegetation Index algorithm also developed at JRC-IES.

Cloud and Ocean Remote Sensing around Africa

The Cloud and Ocean Remote Sensing around Africa (CORSA) project aims to provide a quality controlled data set of surface, atmospheric and cloud parameters over a time period, and at a resolution, not available from any other source. The project has currently derived average Sea Surface Temperature (SST) maps, at weekly and monthly intervals, for the period from August 1981 to December 1993. The data are derived by analysis of NASA AVHRR GAC level 1b data products. Currently 16,000 of these products have been processed.

Ocean Colour European Archive

The Ocean Colour European Archive Network (OCEAN) Project has performed a complete reappraisal of the ocean colour data from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) available in Europe. The aim of the Project was to generate a data base of CZCS single and composite images for the European Seas, for the period between 1979 and 1985, and to set up the scientific tools needed for its exploitation. The OCEAN Project has processed about 15,000 CZCS images at level 1 (original top-of-the-atmosphere radiances), 7.000 images at level 2 (surface reflectances and derived geophysical parameters) and 3.500 images at level 3 (remapped, composited statistical products) of the major European basins. The latter ones are derived for the parameter chlorophyll-like pigment concentration and are presented here.

Datasets for Atmospheric Modelling (DAM)

A large number of datasets is presently available to the Scientific Community for atmospheric model validation. These data have been made accessible through web sites by the research groups that collected them or, in many cases, can be obtain upon direct requests to these groups. The objective of DAM is to facilitate the access to such valuable information to any model developer or user that intends to validate his/her modeling tool.

European Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP)

EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform) makes unvalidated radiological monitoring data from most European countries available in nearly real-time. The participation of the EU member states is regulated by the Council Decision 87/600 and the Recommendation 2000/473/Euratom. The participation of non-EU countries is on a voluntary basis. Countries sending their national data have access to the data of all the other participating countries. In addition there is the gentlemen’s agreement that participating to EURDEP automatically means that data delivery will continue during an emergency but with a higher data transmission frequency. (For free access, please click on ‘Public EURDEP map’)

Carbodata Archive

The CARBODATA web site has been created some years ago as information, data and product dissemination tool within the CARBOEUROPE cluster of projects, originated to understand and quantify the carbon balance of Europe. The web pages provide large amounts of data on atmospheric CO2 and trace gas measurements, including detailed information about the measurement sites. The CARBODATA site serves as a portal to a number of spatial data sets related to the European carbon balance, especially in the field of forestry and land cover data.

WMO World Data Centre for Aerosols

IES hosts the WMO World Data Centre for Aerosols, one of five world data centres in the framework of the Global Atmosphere Watch. The Data Centre includes downloadable data on parameters such as: Aerosol Optical Depth, Aerosol Light scattering and backscattering, Aerosol Chemistry, Aerosol Light absorption, Condensation nuclei concentration, and Aerosol Size distributions. The objective of the WMO World Data Centre for Aerosols is to determine the spatio-temporal distribution of aerosol properties related to climate forcing and air quality up to multidecadal time scales.

Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR)

The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) provides data on global past and present anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants by country on a spatial grid. The current development of EDGAR is a joint project of the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). Previous versions of EDGAR have been widely used by the global scientific community for more than 15 years due to their consistent global coverage and the spatial allocation of country and sector emissions. In EDGARv4.0, emissions are spatially allocated on detailed geospatial maps (0.1 degree) using the exact location of energy and manufacturing facilities, road networks, shipping routes, human and animal population density and agricultural land use. The resolution of 0.1 degree has been selected so that local, regional and global models can use the same emission dataset. The dataset provides an unique insight into the emissions of both developed and developing countries.

Ispra Air Pollution Monitoring Station (real-time data)

Being located on the JRC Ispra site, the air pollution monitoring station of the Institute for Environment and Sustainbility is the only monitoring station in Northern Italy taking part in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Co-operative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP). The station continuously measures variables like particulate matter, ozone, CO, NO2, SO2 and other atmospheric components and provides the data online in real time.

Ispra Meteorological Station (real-time data)

The meteorological station of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability provides real-time data measured at the JRC Ispra site in Northern Italy. Among other data, it provides information about present temperature, pressure, humidity, rain fall, wind speed and solar irradiation. The web site allows to download raw data and to draw graphs showing present and past conditions.

Leaf Optical Properties EXperiment 93 (LOPEX93) – zip file, 9 Mb

The LOPEX database was established by the JRC in 1993 and has been used by researchers throughout the world for more than a decade. In order to have a wide range of variation of leaf internal structure, pigmentation, water content and biochemical components, plant species with different types of leaves were collected during two separate periods during the summer of 1993. About 70 leaf samples representative of more than 50 species were obtained from trees, crops and plants in the area of the JRC, Ispra, Italy. The biochemical constituents of interest in this experiment were lignin, proteins (nitrogen), cellulose and starch, as well as chlorophyll and foliar water. The major processes involved in the terrestrial ecosystem such as photosynthesis, primary production, or foliar decomposition can be related to these constituents.

LOPEX’93 User Guide (pdf file, 324Kb)

FLOODS Portal

The European FLOODS Portal brings together information on river floods and flood risk in Europe.

The portal is the result of ongoing research activities carried out as part of the IES’ FLOODS Action at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, combined with local public information provided by EU Countries.