Forest Aboveground Biomass for the Southwestern U.S. from MISR, 2000-2021

This dataset provides estimates of forest aboveground biomass (AGB; in Mg ha-1) at a resolution of 250 m for the southwestern United States over the time period 2000-2021. The AGB estimates were derived from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Multiangle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) Level 1B2 Terrain radiance data and a multi-angle approach that exploits the relationship between forest AGB and a suite of red band reflectance values modeled at viewing angles with respect to the direction of illumination. The year 2000 National Biomass and Carbon Dataset (NBCD 2000) AGB estimates were used to fit a model coefficient for the MISR-derived AGB estimates for the year 2000, with AGB estimates for all subsequent years dependent on both this coefficient and MISR red band bidirectional reflectance factors (BRFs). Quality assurance (QA) files are also provided that allow users to impose criteria of varying stringency. The bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model-fitting root mean square error (RMSE) value was used as one of the criteria to determine if the AGB estimates were reasonable. This dataset is the first example of forest AGB estimation based on a multi-angle index applied using MISR data.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated June 8, 2026, 21:56 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 15:49 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id e0eaaa9e-8e04-4368-a8a7-53a49254cff2
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1978
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-03T16:52:49Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher ORNL_DAAC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 77a69a7e36ee05b1b01edc90c46d0cb03fbeb20334f9d3efd7d1a8a5e772ce75
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -126.18, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 46.2812, "EastBoundingCoordinate": -99.0185, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": 28.599}]]
temporal 2000-05-15/2021-06-30
theme {"Earth Science"}