JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2020

Presentation information

[E] Poster

U (Union ) » Union

[U-22] Environmental drivers and impacts of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic

convener:Benjamin F Zaitchik(Johns Hopkins University), Teppei J Yasunari(Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University)

[U22-P02] Integrate NASA Remote Sensing Data into your COVID-19 Research with our new Data Pathfinder

*Cynthia Hall1, Kevin Ward2 (1.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2.NASA Earth Science Data Systems)

Keywords:Remote sensing, Data access, COVID-19

NASA and other Earth-observing agencies are using satellite and airborne data to assess regional and global environmental, economic, and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether the goal is to discover the forces behind the virus’ spread or to look at effects on the environment due to changes in human behavior, NASA’s remote sensing data can provide baselines for comparison and show new trends over time.



NASA’s Earth science data collections provide a wealth of information to aid in our understanding of Earth processes and the data are all freely and openly available at earthdata.nasa.gov. Choosing the right datasets and tools to answer a scientific question often requires expert knowledge and guidance. To help novice users access, explore, and use NASA Earth science data, we have developed a series of data pathfinders.



Data pathfinders provide direct links to commonly used datasets and data products across NASA’s Earth science data collections. Pathfinders supplement Earthdata search capabilities by providing access to datasets through commonly used tools, providing different ways of visualizing the data, options for subsetting the data, and options for saving the data in different file formats.


The COVID-19 pathfinder is for users who are studying the environmental signals surrounding the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. It provides links to datasets that can be used to research changing environmental impacts on air quality, water quality, land cover changes, and more, that are the result of modified human behavior
patterns. This pathfinder provides links to measurements of temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet (UV) irradiance, which offer an opportunity to assess the possibility of seasonal trends in virus transmission. It also provides links to datasets related to water availability, such as the amount and rate of precipitation, soil moisture, and groundwater resources. Water availability and possible drought conditions need to be continuously monitored to ensure uninterrupted water services for hospitals and other critical services during the pandemic.


Come see how you can easily find NASA data to enhance your research.