Globe Land 30 (GLC-30m)

The first 30 m resolution global land cover data set with 10 classes and for the year 2000 and 2010. Global Land Cover (GLC) information is fundamental for environmental change studies, land resource management, sustainable development, and many other societal benefits. Although GLC data exists at spatial resolutions of 300 m and 1000 m, a 30 m resolution mapping approach is now a feasible option for the next generation of GLC products. Since most significant human impacts on the land system can be captured at this scale, a number of researchers are focusing on such products. This paper reports the operational approach used in such a project, which aims to deliver reliable data products. Over 10,000 Landsat-like satellite images are required to cover the entire Earth at 30 m resolution. To derive a GLC map from such a large volume of data necessitates the development of effective, efficient, economic and operational approaches. Automated approaches usually provide higher efficiency and thus more economic solutions, yet existing automated classification has been deemed ineffective because of the low classification accuracy achievable (typically below 65%) at global scale at 30 m resolution. As a result, an approach based on the integration of pixel- and object-based methods with knowledge (POK-based) has been developed. Data citation: CHEN Jun et al.: 2015.Global land cover mapping at 30 m resolution: A POK-based operational approach. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Volume 103, May 2015, Pages 7–27 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2014.09.002 Available at: http://www.geodoi.ac.cn/WebEn/doi.aspx?Id=163