GIS at NASA
Geographic Information Systems - going beyond mapping! Providing powerful capabilities to visualize, analyze, and interact with big data
Scroll downward to progress linearly through the StoryMap, or navigate to the sections you are most interested in by clicking on the section title located in the Story navigation bar above this text.
What is GIS?
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a collection of computer-based tools for organizing information from a variety of data sources to map and examine changes on Earth. It is designed to capture, store, manage, analyze, and visualize all types of geographical data. GIS allows for the integration and collective analysis of data from multiple sources, including satellite imagery, GPS recordings, and textual attributes associated with a particular space.
GIS are used in nearly all fields that need to understand the spatial patterns and relationships between different datasets, from land-use planning to emergency response to resource management. GIS include many components:
- visualizations through interactive maps,
- data based on the location of features or variables represented,
- spatial analytic functions that focus on identifying trends and patterns across space and time, and
- applications that enable tools and services in user-friendly interfaces.
Impacts of GIS at NASA
GIS is commonly used at NASA to aid in the distribution of data products and has been adapted to add new functionality to IT portfolios. GIS is much more than mapping, GIS can bring new value to data with powerful spatial analytics and data visualizations
With improved support for scientific, multidimensional data, GIS tools enhance user experiences by unlocking powerful capabilities to manage, view, analyze, serve, and distribute important data and insights. Advanced applications help data owners integrate various types of content, share their perspectives and tell a story to audiences - ranging from research scientists, students, decision-makers and the general public.
Why is GIS Important?
Using a GIS increases the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of your data. GIS can take complex data in unintuitive data formats and make it available to users from all backgrounds in an easy to understand way. GIS and GIS sharing platforms even allow users to interact with, share, and download your data without needing to have their own geospatial programs and expensive licenses. At its core, GIS simplifies the process of sharing scientific data across federal, research, and scientific communities.
The NASA Disasters Mapping Portal to the right is an excellent example of a geospatial portal. This publicly accessible website allows users to interact with NASA data, curated maps, and custom-built mapping applications.
To interact with the NASA Disasters mapping Portal, click anywhere in the window to the right. You can also click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
GIS can provide insight into geographic changes, weather predictions, statistical anomalies, and more. The map to the right displays global sea surface temperature data and traces the path of Hurricane Florence from west Africa to the eastern coast of the United States. Maps like this help researchers understand how weather and climate are changing and how they can affect our everyday lives.
Click anywhere in the window to the right to interact with the map.
The StoryMap built from this map explaining how changing temperatures interact with and predict hurricanes can be accessed here . Interactive applications like these that methodically walk through geospatial data can help educate students in visually appealing ways.
GIS technology can visualize global phenomena in 3-D spaces, such as the smoke plume height map to the right. This map displays exaggerated (20x) plume height measured in meters by the Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on December 16, 2019 for the Australian Fires. Three-dimensional analysis is very helpful for variables like smoke, which spread rapidly across the world and affect more than just the Earth's surface.
This is a view of the same plumes from the North:
And once more, a view from the South:
GIS at NASA Earth Science
The NASA Earth Science Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
The EOSDIS science operations are performed within a distributed system of many interconnected nodes. These include Science Investigator-led Processing Systems ( SIPS ) and distributed, discipline-specific , Earth science Distributed Active Archive Centers ( DAACs ) with specific responsibilities for production, archiving, and distribution of Earth science data products.
You can find out more about the DAACs by clicking the pins in the map to the left! Each has a fascinating focus area, and combined, they cover an enormous breadth of knowledge and scientific understanding.
The NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) produces StoryMaps that walk through global and regional geospatial datasets with the intention of informing and educating a wide variety of stakeholders. One of the key goals of the ASDC is to translate data and findings into meaningful knowledge and derived products that inspires action by scientists, educators, decision makers, and the public.
Click anywhere in the window to the left to interact with an ASDC StoryMap discussing the impact of the recent Australian bushfires. You can also click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
Click anywhere in the window to the left to interact with an ASDC StoryMap discussing two new NASA missions involving the MAIA and TEMPO Earth-observing satellites. You can also click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
The GES DISC DAAC enables access to a wide range of global climate data, focusing on creating visualizations of Atmospheric Composition & Dynamics, Global Precipitation, Water & Energy Cycle, Solar Irradiance, and Global Modeling.
Click anywhere in the window to the left to interact with a Web Application from GES DISC discussing the impact of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. The vertical bars represent relative rainfall rate in mm/hr across the Bahamas. You can also click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
The ASF DAAC works to acquire, process, archive, and distribute synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from polar-orbiting satellites and sensors to advance Earth Science Research. The ASF DAAC also focusses on studying Sea Ice, Polar Processes, and general Geophysics.
Click anywhere in the window to the left to interact with a StoryMap from ASF discussing how to access NASA Radiometrically Terrain Corrected Sentinel-1 SAR datasets. The ASF offers these datasets in its Vertex Data Search portal . This makes analysis-ready SAR data available to anyone, and the updated ArcGIS toolbox is optimized for use with these products.
You can also click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
The "AppEEARS" application by LP DAAC, or Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples, offers a simple and efficient way to access, extract, and transform geospatial data from a variety of federal data archives.
Access the AppEEARS homepage here . Please note that for some AppEEARS activities you will need a Earthdata user account - these can be created for free regardless of NASA affiliation.
The "State of the Ocean" application by the Physical Oceanography DAAC is an interactive, web-based tool used to generate maps, animations and plots that communicate and promote discovery and analysis of the current state of the world's oceans. It provides access to a broad range of satellite-derived products and key parameters of interest to the oceanographic community. The application enables research through exploration and comparative analysis of physical oceanographic data.
To interact with this application yourself, click here !
The My NASA Data website offers a variety of opportunities for grades 3-12 students to explore Earth Science phenomena of the Atmosphere, Biosphere, Cryosphere, Geosphere, and Hydrosphere using uniquely NASA related content. My NASA Data's Story Map Lesson Plans feature interactive maps of NASA data, multimedia content, and instruction to aid Earth Science educators in the classroom.
One example of the type of content that is publicly accessible on the My NASA Data website is the map shown to the left, along with its accompanying StoryMap . This map allows students to explore the urban heat island effect using land surface temperature and vegetation data.
To view My NASA Data's Story Map Collection Page, click here !
The My NASA Data website also features a data visualization tool, the Earth System Data Explorer (ESDE), which helps learners visualize complex Earth System data sets over space and time. Available datasets are organized by Earth System sphere, science variable, dataset name, and start/end dates.
To learn more about the My NASA Data tool, click here !
To access the Earth System Data Explorer, click here !
How Is NASA GIS Data Used?
One of the most compelling examples of GIS at NASA is the Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) Data Access viewer, API, and web services. POWER is an impressive tool that allows users to visualize and manipulate a wide range of meteorological and solar-related parameters and global datasets in a single easy to use Web Mapping Application. POWER allows users to interact with data services or export selected data in ASCII, CSV, GeoJSON, or NetCDF format.
To the right is a screenshot of the POWER Data Access Viewer displaying insolation data of the entire Earth's surface, with a graph displaying changing insolation values over time at a point just south of Philadelphia. To navigate to and interact with the POWER Data Access Viewer yourself, click here !
NASA users cover a wide array of scientific studies. Just within the NASA Earth Science Applied Sciences Program, there are 6 large focus areas: Capacity Building, Disasters, Ecological Forecasting, Food Security & Agriculture, Health & Air Quality, and Water Resources.
Disasters, Capacity Building, and Health & Air quality in particular frequently utilize GIS and geospatial analysis to address global issues.
The Disasters Program area works with federal, state and local entities as well as international organizations and foreign government agencies. Its focuses include disaster response, risk reduction, and resilience. Disaster response in particular represents a unique geospatial challenge, requiring the ability to rapidly create, aggregate, manage, and share relevant NASA derived products in formats useful to end users. These end users are often first responders and disaster relief agencies who need up-to-date information as quickly as possible during disaster events.
The interactive to the right was created by the Disasters Program area to showcase the damage caused by the warehouse explosion in Beirut in August of 2020. Move the slider left and right to see areas of destruction highlighted, with darker colors representing higher levels of destruction.
The Capacity Building Program area's three initiatives (Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET), DEVELOP, and SERVIR) each have unique approaches to GIS. ARSET demonstrates how to use NASA Earth observations to conduct geospatial analysis and utilize remote sensing products through tutorials and trainings. DEVELOP is geospatial training program with small project teams delivering a geospatial solution for an identified problem at the end of a ten-week semester. SERVIR is a joint venture between NASA and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). It provides state-of-the-art, satellite-based Earth monitoring, imaging and mapping data, geospatial information, predictive models, and science applications to help improve environmental decision-making among developing nations in eastern and southern Africa, the Hindu-Kush region of the Himalayas, and the lower Mekong River Basin in southeast Asia.
The Dashboard to the right was created by a DEVELOP team in 2020 to showcase temperature anomalies in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
You can interact with it by clicking anywhere in the map window, or you can click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
The Health & Air Quality Program area works with environmental modelers and geospatial experts around the United States to use satellite imagery and Earth observations to address issues related to climate change, environmental health, and human disease.
The interactive tool to the right, NASA Worldview, shows a visualization of monthly atmospheric dust distribution across the Earth's surface. Darker colors represent higher density dust clouds and therefore lower air quality for humans.
You can interact with it by clicking anywhere in the map window, or you can click the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the application window to open the page in your web browser.
Where Can I find NASA Data?
NASA data can be accessed from a variety of resources and end points. The main data access points are NASA Earthdata Search and NASA Worldview .
Earthdata Search
NASA Earthdata Search is a wonderful resource for searching data by keyword and quickly visualizing it with the built-in map display before deciding whether to download it for your own purposes. Earthdata search also allows you to search specific areas by drawing polygons in the map display. Earthdata Search requires a user login to access, but anyone can create a user account.
NASA Worldview
NASA Worldview provides the capability to interactively browse over 900 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Use the embedded worldview home page below to try it out, or click on the "Open live content in a new tab" button in the top right of the window to navigate directly to the Worldview website.
Worldview: Explore Your Dynamic Planet
NASA ArcGIS Online
NASA geospatial data can also be accessed on ArcGIS Online (AGOL). Though often data cannot be downloaded directly from AGOL, it is a great resource for viewing curated NASA data and maps.
Getting Started with GIS
We understand NASA data is complex and you might be feeling overwhelmed. To help get you started with learning about using NASA data in GIS tools, the following are great resources:
Webinars and Tutorials
Data recipes are tutorials that include step-by-step instructions to help users learn how to discover, access, subset, visualize and use Earth science data, information, tools and services. These tutorials cover many different data products across the Earth science disciplines and different data discovery and data access tools, including programming languages and related software.
GIS Data Pathfinder
For a guided walkthrough of NASA data using Geospatial Web Services
Click here to access!
NASA Earth Science GIS Wiki
For tutorials and data recipes related to GIS, Open Source GIS Software and the Esri Suite.
An Earthdata Login is required to view. To sign up for a free account, r egister via Earthdata Login: https://urs.earthdata.nasa.gov/
Click here to access!
EOSDIS Webinar Series
The NASA Earthdata data discovery and data access webinars span the Earth science disciplines and are designed to help users learn about NASA EOSDIS data, services and tools and show users how to work with these data resources. As the monthly webinar schedule varies, be sure to check the online catalog for a listing of past and upcoming events.
Learn GIS NASA Earthdata Page
For an overview of NASA-curated tools and resources
Click here to access!
