π Finding Environmental Data Online π±
Key Sources for Ecosystem, Water, Climate, and Social Data
ποΈ U.S. Government Data Portals
1. Data.gov
- Central hub for open government data π
- Datasets from agencies like NOAA, NASA, and USGS
- APIs and download options
2. USGS ScienceBase
- Geospatial and environmental science data π
3. USGS Earth Explorer
- Satellite imagery and aerial photos πΈ
4. National Map
- Topographic and land cover data πΊοΈ
π§οΈ Hydrology and Water Resources π§
1. USGS NWIS
- Streamflow, groundwater, and water quality data π
2. NOAA National Water Model
- Hydrologic modeling and forecasts π¦
3. NASA Global Hydrology Resource Center
- Satellite-based hydrology data π
4. EPA Water Data
- Water quality and watershed datasets π±
5. Internet of Water
- Water data infrastructure tools ππ§
βοΈ Climate and Weather Data
1. NOAA NCEI
- Historical weather and climate records π€οΈ
2. NASA Earthdata
- Remote sensing data from NASAβs satellites π
3. PRISM Climate Group
- High-resolution climate datasets π
4. GridMET
- Gridded meteorological data π§οΈ
5. GHCN
- Historical station-based climate observations π§βπ¬
π± Land Cover and Remote Sensing Data
1. USGS NLCD
- Land cover classification ποΈ
2. NASA MODIS & Landsat
- Satellite imagery for land cover and vegetation π³
3. Copernicus Open Access Hub
- Free access to Sentinel data π
4. Google Earth Engine
- Cloud-based geospatial analysis π₯οΈ
5. Microsoft Planetary Computer
- Earth observation and AI-based analytics π
π GitHub - Awesome Public Datasets π€
Awesome Public Datasets
- A curated list of high-quality public datasets π
- Covers climate, geospatial, hydrology, social sciences, economics, health, and more π‘
- Frequently updated with new sources β³
- Great for machine learning, research, and open data applications π
πΎ Colorado-Specific Environmental Data ποΈ
1. Colorado Information Marketplace
- Open datasets on environment, energy, and demographics π
2. Colorado Division of Water Resources
- Water rights and streamflow data π§
3. Colorado State Forest Service
- Forestry and wildfire data π²π₯
4. Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
- Air, water, and public health data π₯
π UN & Global Environmental Data π
1. UN Data Portal
- Global statistics on environment, economics, and population π
2. FAO AQUASTAT
- Global water resources data π
3. UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Data
- Climate, pollution, and biodiversity πΏ
4. World Bank Open Data
- Economic and environmental data πΌ
5. WHO Global Health Observatory
- Health and environmental risk factors π₯
π» R Packages π§βπ»
1. tidycensus β U.S. Census and ACS data π
2. dataRetrieval β USGS & EPA hydrology data (Worlds largest water API) π§
3. climateR β Climate datasets like PRISM & GridMET π‘οΈ
3. elevatr - Access Elevation Data from Various APIs
4. rnoaa β NOAA weather and climate data π¦οΈ
5. neonUtilities β NEON ecological data π±
6. riem β Allows to get weather data from Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) stations (airports) in the whole world thanks to the Iowa Environment Mesonet websi π¬οΈ
7. nasapower - API client for NASA POWER global meteorology, surface solar energy and climatology data API βοΈ
8. FedData - Automate Downloading Geospatial Data Available from Several Federated Data Sources π§οΈ
9. GHCNr - fast and friendly interface with the Global Historical Climatology Network daily (GHCNd) database, which contains daily summaries of weather station data worldwide π§οΈ
10. osmdata - Download and import of βOpenStreetMapβ (βOSMβ) data π§
11. tidyUSDA: A Minimal Tool Set for Gathering USDA Quick Stat Data for Analysis and Visualization π
π Key Academic Databases
Almost all Journals now have an open data policy. In these, data is either part of the paper, or, archived at a central database:
1. Nature Scientific Data
- Open access journal dedicated to data, publishing descriptions of research datasets and articles on research data sharing from all areas of natural sciences, medicine, engineering and social sciences. π
2. Google Scholar
- A free, widely used academic search engine π
- Access research papers, theses, and patents π
3. PubMed
- Biomedical literature and health-related datasets π§¬
- Useful for health, epidemiology, and environmental data π
4. IEEE Xplore
- Engineering, computer science, and technology research π₯οΈ
- Often includes datasets related to environmental modeling π
5. DataCite
- Repository for datasets linked to scholarly articles ποΈ
- Includes data across a variety of disciplines, including earth sciences π
π Research Gateways & Repositories
1. arXiv
- Preprints for physics, math, computer science, and environmental sciences π§βπ¬
2. Dryad
- Open data repository with a focus on life sciences and ecology π±
3. OpenICPSR
- Social science and environmental datasets ποΈ
4. Zenodo
- Open-access repository with datasets and research outputs π
5. HydroShare
- Open data repository with a focus on hydrologic data resoruces π§
π Searching for Datasets in Published Articles
- Use keywords such as βopen data,β βenvironmental datasets,β βclimate data,β etc. π
- Look for datasets linked directly in the article or listed in supplemental material π
- Check for articles published in high-impact journals like Nature, Science, and PNAS for reliable datasets π°
Introduction to Google Data Commons
Google Data Commons is an open data platform that integrates public datasets across various domains, making them easily accessible through a structured knowledge graph. It allows users to explore, analyze, and visualize data without needing to download large datasets or manage complex data infrastructures.
Why Use Google Data Commons?
Access to Multiple Datasets: Google Data Commons aggregates datasets from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, NOAA, World Bank, and NASA.
Simplified Data Exploration: Users can query datasets using the online interface or the R package without prior database management experience.
Interoperability: Combines socioeconomic, environmental, and hydrologic data for cross-domain analysis.
Visualization Tools: Provides built-in charts, tables, and maps for data representation.
How Google Data Commons Works
Knowledge Graph Structure: Data is organized as a knowledge graph, enabling relationships between datasets.
Querying via Online Interface: Users can explore datasets interactively through the website without needing programming knowledge.
Integration with Google Cloud: Allows seamless use in cloud-based analysis.
Getting Started with Google Data Commons
Visit Google Data Commons to browse datasets and visualizations.
Regrade Policy:
All daily exercises are eligible for a regrade with credit up to 80%.
Lab 1 is eligible for a regrade for up to 50% of the lost points
Remember, there is Extra Credit available in the form of a final in which you resubmit your Personal Website with all class labs and projects linked. (Get started now ποΈ)
Assigment:
Identify 5 data sources that you might be interested in.
They can come from this list but should be specific (e.g. βWater Quality Data about Bicarbonateβ not βdataRetrivialβ).
You can use these to jump start your group discussions in lab so try to have this done prior to lab (although the due date is Friday at 5pm)
Enjoy Spring Break π΄ β°οΈ β !