Data Collections: Earth System Data Explorer

The My NASA Data visualization tool, Earth System Data Explorer (ESDE), helps learners visualize complex Earth System data sets over space and time. Below, datasets are organized by Earth System sphere, science variable, dataset name, and start/end dates. Selecting a specific dataset in the ESDE will show you a description of this variable, the units in which they are measured, and the NASA (or other) mission in which they are collected. Please note that these collections are continuously updated. If you don't see what you are looking for, contact us at larc-mynasadata@mail.nasa.gov.

Image Credit: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain

For complete data citation information please visit the Earth System Data Explorer Data Citations page.

 

Dataset Name	Categories	Spheres	Start Date	End Date
Daily High Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	01/01/1980	07/31/2025
Daily Low Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	01/01/1980	07/31/2025
Daily Mean Sea Surface Temperature	El Niño Southern Oscillation Sea Surface Properties	Earth as a System Hydrosphere	09/01/1981	08/26/2025
Daily Middle Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	01/01/1980	07/31/2025
Daily Precipitation Amount	Air Quality El Niño Southern Oscillation Extreme Heat Precipitation Precipitation and Water Vapor	Atmosphere Earth as a System Hydrosphere	06/01/2000	08/31/2025
Daily Surface Air Temperature	El Niño Southern Oscillation Temperatures	Atmosphere Earth as a System Hydrosphere	1/1/1980	07/31/2025
Daily Total Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	01/01/1980	07/31/2025
Monthly Aerosol Optical Depth	Aerosols Air Quality Atmospheric Chemistry	Atmosphere Earth as a System	03/2000	06/2025
Monthly Air Column Concentration of NO2	Aerosols Air Quality Atmospheric Chemistry	Atmosphere Earth as a System	10/2004	03/2025
Monthly Air Column Concentration of Ozone	Air Quality Atmospheric Chemistry Greenhouse Gases	Atmosphere Earth as a System	10/2004	07/2025
Monthly Air Column Concentration of SO2	Aerosols Air Quality Atmospheric Chemistry	Atmosphere Earth as a System	10/2004	09/2025
Monthly Albedo Measured at the Surface	Albedo Measured at the Surface Extreme Heat	Cryosphere Geosphere Earth as a System	03/2000	05/2024
Monthly Albedo Measured From Space	Albedo Earth's Energy Budget	Atmosphere Earth as a System	03/2000	07/2025
Monthly Chlorophyll Concentration	Phytoplankton    Vegetation	Biosphere	01/2012	07/2025
Monthly Coral Bleaching Alert Area	Coral Reefs	Biosphere	04/1985	10/2023
Monthly Daytime Surface (Skin) Temperature	Extreme Heat Skin Temperature Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	02/2000	07/2025
Monthly Flow of Energy into Surface by Longwave Radiation	Earth's Energy Budget Longwave and Shortwave Radiation at the Earth's Surface	Atmosphere Earth as a System	03/2000	06/2025
Monthly Flow of Energy into Surface by Shortwave Radiation	Earth's Energy Budget Longwave and Shortwave Radiation at the Earth's Surface Phytoplankton	Atmosphere Biosphere Earth as a System	03/2000	04/2025
Monthly High Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	03/2000	05/2024
Monthly Leaf Area Index	Extreme Heat Plant Growth Patterns Vegetation	Biosphere Earth as a System	01/2021	09/2025
Monthly Low Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	03/2000	01/2024
Monthly Lower Tropospheric Concentration of CH4	Atmospheric Chemistry	Atmosphere	09/2002	04/2024
Monthly Lower Tropospheric Concentration of CO	Atmospheric Chemistry	Atmosphere	09/2002	12/2024
Monthly Mean Relative Humidity	Earth's Energy Budget Extreme Heat Precipitation and Water Vapor	Atmosphere Earth as a System	01/2000	06/2022
Monthly Mean Sea Surface Temperature	Earth's Energy Budget Sea Surface Properties	Hydrosphere Earth as a System	12/1981	07/2025
Monthly Mean Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly	Sea Surface Properties	Hydrosphere	09/1981	04/2024
Monthly Mean Soil Moisture	Soil Moisture	Geosphere Hydrosphere	01/1948	05/2024
Monthly Middle Cloud Coverage	Clouds Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	03/2000	04/2024
Monthly Net Flow of Energy towards Earth by Longwave and Shortwave Radiation with Clouds	Earth's Energy Budget Net Atmospheric Radiation	Atmosphere Earth as a System	03/2000	12/2022
Monthly Nighttime Surface (Skin) Temperature	Extreme Heat Skin Temperature Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	02/2000	07/2025
Monthly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index	Extreme Heat Plant Growth Patterns Vegetation	Biosphere Earth as a System	02/2000	06/2025
Monthly Precipitation Anomaly (Combined Sources)	Air Quality El Niño Southern Oscillation Extreme Heat Precipitation Precipitation and Water Vapor	Atmosphere Earth as a System Hydrosphere	01/2000	06/2025
Monthly Precipitation Rate (Combined Sources)	Air Quality El Niño Southern Oscillation Extreme Heat Precipitation Precipitation and Water Vapor	Atmosphere Earth as a System Hydrosphere	01/1979	06/2025
Monthly Precipitation Rate (Satellite Observed)	Air Quality El Niño Southern Oscillation Extreme Heat Precipitation Precipitation and Water Vapor	Atmosphere Earth as a System Hydrosphere	01/2000	03/2025
Monthly Sea Ice Extent (Northern Hemisphere)	Sea Ice Extent	Cryosphere	01/1979	05/2025
Monthly Sea Ice Extent (Southern Hemisphere)	Sea Ice Extent	Cryosphere	01/1979	05/2025
Monthly Sea Level (Sea Surface Height) Anomaly	El Niño Southern Oscillation Sea Level Rise Sea Surface Properties	Earth as a System Hydrosphere	01/1997	10/2024
Monthly Sea Surface Salinity	El Niño Southern Oscillation Sea Surface Properties	Earth as a System Hydrosphere	04/2015	02/2025
Monthly Snow and Ice Percent Coverage	Changes in Snow and Ice Extent	Cryosphere	03/2000	12/2024
Monthly Surface Air Temperature	El Niño Southern Oscillation Extreme Heat Temperatures Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere Hydrosphere	01/1980	05/2025
Monthly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly	Extreme Heat Temperatures	Atmosphere Earth as a System	01/1980	03/2024
Monthly Surface (Skin) Temperature	Extreme Heat Skin Temperature Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	02/2000	01/2025
Monthly Total Cloud Coverage	Clouds Earth's Energy Budget Urban Heat Island	Atmosphere Earth as a System Geosphere	03/2000	01/2025
Monthly Tropospheric Concentration of CO2	Air Quality Atmospheric Chemistry Greenhouse Gases	Atmosphere Earth as a System	09/2002	06/2025
Monthly Water Vapor in the Atmosphere	Earth's Energy Budget Greenhouse Gases Precipitation and Water Vapor	Atmosphere Earth as a System	09/2002	12/2024
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - CNRM Model - Scenario 1 (Sustainability)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - CNRM Model - Scenario 2 (Middle of the Road)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - CNRM Model - Scenario 3 (Regional Rivalry)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - CNRM Model - Scenario 4 (Inequality)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - IPSL Model -      Scenario 1 (Sustainability)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - IPSL Model -      Scenario 2 (Middle of the Road)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - IPSL Model -     Scenario 3 (Regional Rivalry)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - IPSL Model -      Scenario 4 (Inequality)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MIROC6 Model - Scenario 1 (Sustainability)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MIROC6 Model - Scenario 2 (Middle of the Road)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MIROC6 Model - Scenario 3 (Regional Rivalry)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MIROC6 Model - Scenario 4 (Inequality)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MRI Model -         Scenario 1 (Sustainability)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MRI Model -         Scenario 2 (Middle of the Road)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MRI Model -         Scenario 3 (Regional Rivalry)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099
Yearly Surface Air Temperature Anomaly - MRI Model -         Scenario 4 (Inequality)	Climate Models	Atmosphere	2020	2099

Updates: 

• On May 26, 2021, Sea Level (Sea Surface Height) Anomaly was updated and now features data from a different source.  Data for some years may have slightly different values when compared to the previous version, especially at any time after 2012.