Effective Access to Remote Sensing and Model Data for Agriculture from NASA GES DISC

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) archives over 1,760 data collections derived from remotely sensed observations and numerical model outputs, with a primary focus on atmospheric composition, water and energy cycles, and climate variability. These data products are widely used in applied science research areas such as air quality, renewable energy, extreme weather, agriculture, and ecosystems.

The large number of remotely sensed data collections at GES DISC are derived from more than 200 satellite sensors, including GPM, TRMM, AIRS, OMI, and TROPOMI. The numerical model datasets are primarily sourced from NASA’s reanalysis and data assimilation systems, such as the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) and the NASA Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Each collection may include multiple variables—some containing over 100 variables.

Data needs and tools often differ across scientific fields, meaning the required data access methods and services can vary between communities. To better support these diverse needs, we aim to understand which datasets are most commonly used and how they are applied within specific science communities. Analyzing published research can help answer these questions. GES DISC has compiled a library of over 13,400 publications associated with its archived datasets, most of which are peer-reviewed articles published in journals and books.

In this study, we reviewed a curated set of papers, focusing on approximately 100 publications in agricultural research. We identified the most frequently used remote sensing and modeled datasets, as well as the specific variables of interest. Example popular data include precipitation from GPM IMERG Early Precipitation L3 1 day 0.1° × 0.1° V07 (GPM_3IMERGDE); meteorology elements from MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_slv_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-Averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Single-Level Diagnostics V5.12.4 (M2T1NXSLV); aerosol and pollution measurement from OMI/Aura NO2 Cloud-Screened Total and Tropospheric Column L3 Global Gridded 0.25 degree x 0.25 degree V004 (OMNO2d). We also examined how these datasets are applied in agricultural studies.

In addition to its robust search and download capabilities, GES DISC offers a variety of user-focused data services, including online data visualization, data subsetting, and time series access. We demonstrate how to efficiently access the identified popular data using various tailored data services, including cloud-based solutions.