Global Monthly and Seasonal Urban and Land Backscatter Time Series, 1993-2020
The Global Monthly and Seasonal Urban and Land Backscatter Time Series, 1993-2020, is a multi-sensor, multi-decadal, data set of global microwave backscatter, for 1993 to 2020. It assembles data from C-band sensors onboard the European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2) covering 1993-2000, Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) onboard EUMETSAT satellites for 2007-2020, and the Ku-band sensor onboard the QuikSCAT satellite for 1999-2009, onto a common spatial grid (0.05 degree latitude /longitude resolution) and time step (both monthly and seasonal). Data are provided for all land (except high latitudes and islands), and for urban grid cells, based on a specific masking that removes grid cells with > 50% open water or < 20% built land. The all-land data allows users to choose and evaluate other urban masks. There is an offset between C-band and Ku-band backscatter from both vegetated and urban surfaces that is not spatially constant. There is a strong linear correlation (overall R-squared value = 0.69) between 2015 ASCAT urban backscatter and a continental-scale gridded product of building volume, across 8,450 urban grid cells (0.05 degree resolution) from large cities in Europe, China, and the United States.
Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | public |
| bureauCode |
[
"026:00"
]
|
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "undefined",
"@type": "vcard:Contact",
"hasEmail": "mailto:metadata@ciesin.columbia.edu"
}
|
| description | The Global Monthly and Seasonal Urban and Land Backscatter Time Series, 1993-2020, is a multi-sensor, multi-decadal, data set of global microwave backscatter, for 1993 to 2020. It assembles data from C-band sensors onboard the European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2) covering 1993-2000, Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) onboard EUMETSAT satellites for 2007-2020, and the Ku-band sensor onboard the QuikSCAT satellite for 1999-2009, onto a common spatial grid (0.05 degree latitude /longitude resolution) and time step (both monthly and seasonal). Data are provided for all land (except high latitudes and islands), and for urban grid cells, based on a specific masking that removes grid cells with > 50% open water or < 20% built land. The all-land data allows users to choose and evaluate other urban masks. There is an offset between C-band and Ku-band backscatter from both vegetated and urban surfaces that is not spatially constant. There is a strong linear correlation (overall R-squared value = 0.69) between 2015 ASCAT urban backscatter and a continental-scale gridded product of building volume, across 8,450 urban grid cells (0.05 degree resolution) from large cities in Europe, China, and the United States. |
| distribution |
[
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "View documentation related to this dataset",
"format": "HTML",
"mediaType": "text/html",
"description": "Documentation Page",
"downloadURL": "https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/urbanspatial-urban-land-backscatter-time-series-1993-2020/docs"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Get a related visualization",
"format": "JPEG",
"mediaType": "image/jpeg",
"description": "Sample browse graphic of the data set.",
"downloadURL": "https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/downloads/maps/urbanspatial/urbanspatial-urban-land-backscatter-time-series-1993-2020/sedac-logo.jpg"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Google Scholar search results",
"format": "HTML",
"mediaType": "text/html",
"description": "Search results for publications that cite this dataset by its DOI.",
"downloadURL": "https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=10.7927%2Fgr2e-dh86"
}
]
|
| identifier | C2492953186-SEDAC |
| issued | 2022-09-30 |
| keyword |
[
"atmosphere",
"atmospheric-radiation",
"earth-science"
]
|
| language |
[
"en-US"
]
|
| modified | 2025-07-17 |
| programCode |
[
"026:001"
]
|
| publisher |
{
"name": "SEDAC",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| spatial | -180.0 -90.0 180.0 90.0 |
| temporal | 1993-01-01T00:00:00Z/2020-12-31T00:00:00Z |
| theme |
[
"USPAT",
"geospatial"
]
|
| title | Global Monthly and Seasonal Urban and Land Backscatter Time Series, 1993-2020 |
