Vegetation Products


The section below contains information on the NDVI data types; including output attributes, quality and purpose of the data.

Drastic changes to vegetation can affect many things; from the environment and ecosystems, to our health and economy. Satellite data from satellites like the ATSR are used to monitor, measure and map changes in the density of green vegetation over the Earth. The most common measurement is the Normaised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The NDVI is calculated from the near-infrared (NIR) and visible (VIS) light reflected by vegetation, represented by the equation NDVI = (NIR - VIS) / (NIR +VIS). Scientists use this equation to measure the relative amount of vegetation in a given area. Healthy vegetation reflects most of the near-infrared light whilst absorbing most of the visible light that touches it. Therefore, an NDVI value close to +1 indicates an area of high density of green leaves. No green leaves gives a value close to zero. Follow the link below for NVDI measurments from the ATSR missions.

(A)ATSR Multimission

  • Format: HTTP or FTP . V2.0 of the data can also be found here.
  • Quality: Varied.
  • Digital Object Identify (DOI) number: N/A
  • Date of most recent version: 04 July 2014
  • Access: Access via HTTP or FTP. Requires registration as a NEODC user.
  • Supporting data: BEAM Toolbox and NDVI Algorithm
  • Please note, the linked image shows the global composite of NDVI for June 2005, using surface reflectance derived from Swansea AATSR atmospheric correction and aerosol retrieval.

    For more information on ATSR NDVI data please contact cp.r.j.north@swansea.ac.uk.