ISLSCP II GIMMS Monthly NDVI, 1981-2002

The Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data sets were generated to provide a 22-year satellite record of monthly changes in terrestrial vegetation. This data set contains three data files provided at spatial resolutions of 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 degree in latitude and longitude with data from July 1981 through December 2002. New features include reduced NDVI variations arising from calibration, view geometry, volcanic aerosols, and other effects not related to actual vegetation change. In particular, NOAA-9 descending node data from September 1994 to January 1995, volcanic stratospheric aerosol correction for 1982-1984 and 1991-1994, and improved NDVI using empirical mode decomposition/reconstruction (EMD) to minimize effects of orbital drift. Global NDVI was generated to provide inputs for computing the time series of biophysical parameters contained in the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Initiative II collection. NDVI is used in climate models and biogeochemical models to calculate photosynthesis, the exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and the land surface, land-surface evapotranspiration and the absorption and release of energy by the land surface.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated May 11, 2026, 20:32 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 16:44 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 259fd585-2707-49b4-a098-52de5f3c5a35
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/973
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-05-04T22:16:00Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher ORNL_DAAC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash fd307eac27be1ee23c0741a18026e5f227a23e50992975307dbeea7cf603a790
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial [[{"WestBoundingCoordinate":-180.0,"NorthBoundingCoordinate":90.0,"EastBoundingCoordinate":180.0,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-90.0}],"CARTESIAN"]
temporal 1981-07-01/2002-12-31
theme {"Earth Science"}