ESA Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Land Cover Gridded Maps (v2.1.1 updates)
ESA Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Land Cover Gridded Maps (v2.1.1 updates):
Ongoing annual extensions (1992–present at ~300m); v2.1.1 (including 2016 onward with Sentinel-3 integration) active/updated in 2025. Continued production into 2026 (no major new version announced by March 2026, but time series extended progressively). Builds on ESA CCI for climate consistency. https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/datasets/satellite-land-cover?tab=overview
The ESA Copernicus Land Cover Gridded Maps provide annual global datasets classifying the Earth's surface into 22 classes based on the UN FAO Land Cover Classification System (LCCS).
Key Dataset Features
- Temporal Coverage: Data is available from 1992 to the present, with updates released annually.
- Spatial Resolution: The maps offer a horizontal resolution of 300 meters globally.
- Data Structure: Files are provided in NetCDF-4 format using the Plate Carrée projection.
- Version History: Version 2.0.7cds covers 1992–2015, while version 2.1.1 covers 2016 onward; both utilize the same processing chain to ensure long-term consistency.
Primary Variables
Beyond the land cover classification itself, the dataset includes several quality and metadata indicators:
- Land cover class: The specific surface type (e.g., forest, cropland, water) per pixel.
- Change count: Tracks the number of years a pixel's classification has changed since 1992.
- Current pixel state: Identifies the observation status, distinguishing between clear land, water, snow/ice, or cloud interference.
- Observation count: Indicates how many valid satellite observations contributed to a pixel's final classification.
Satellite Sources
The dataset is built from a succession of satellite missions to maintain a continuous record:
- 1992–1999: AVHRR
- 1998–2012: SPOT-Vegetation
- 2003–2012: MERIS (used for the 10-year baseline map)
- 2013–Present: PROBA-V and Sentinel-3 (OLCI and SLSTR).