Urban Spatial Data

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Global Monthly and Seasonal Urban and Land Backscatter Time Series, v1 (1993 – 2020)

Purpose:
To provide a 28-year time series of microwave backscatter to support analysis of patterns and trends in growth of global urban building infrastructure.
Abstract:
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.
Recommended Citation(s)*:

Frolking, S., T. Milliman, R. Mahtta, A. Paget, D. G. Long, and K. C. Seto. 2022. Global Monthly and Seasonal Urban and Land Backscatter Time Series, 1993-2020. Palisades, New York: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/gr2e-dh86. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR.

ENW (EndNote & RefWorks)†
RIS (Others)

Frolking, S., T. Milliman, R. Mahtta, A. Paget, D. G. Long, and K. C. Seto. 2022. A Global Urban Microwave Backscatter Time Series Data Set for 1993-2020 Using ERS, QuikSCAT, and ASCAT Data. Scientific Data 9: 88. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01193-w.

ENW (EndNote & RefWorks)†
RIS (Others)

* When authors make use of data they should cite both the data set and the scientific publication, if available. Such a practice gives credit to data set producers and advances principles of transparency and reproducibility. Please visit the data citations page for details. Users who would like to choose to format the citation(s) for this dataset using a myriad of alternate styles can copy the DOI number and paste it into Crosscite's website.

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Available Formats:
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