Towards Developing Earth Science Data Records of Global Forest Cover Change

There is long-standing recognition of the need for global forest change products at Landsat-class resolutions. To meet this need the Earth Science Data Records of Global Forest Cover Change (ESDR-GFCC) project is funded to produce the following Earth Science Data Records (ESDR) at fine and moderate spatial resolutions: - Global fine resolution (< 100 m) surface reflectance ESDR for four epochs centered around 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2005; - Fine resolution (< 100 m) forest cover change (FCC) ESDR between the four epochs; - Fragmentation products derived from the fine resolution FCC products; - Global 250-m vegetation continuous field (VCF) based FCC ESDR from 2000 to 2005; - FCC ESDR products aggregated from the fine resolution and the 250 m FCC products to 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 0.05 degree grids for use by carbon, biogeochemical and hydrological modelers; We are implementing a suite of best available algorithms suitable for producing these products, and will generate some products in the next few months, including global surface reflectance products, fine resolution FCC products for selected areas, and VCF based FCC products. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of those algorithms, with an emphasis on approaches for systematically assessing the quality of the derived ESDR products. The data products to be produced through the ESDR-GFCC project will also be discussed.