True color earth data set includes seasonal dynamics

Abstract

Space exploration has changed our visual perception of planet Earth. In the 1950s,satellites revolutionized weather forecasting. Astronaut photography in the early 1970s showed us the Earth in color, the so‐called ‘Blue Marble’ (Figure 1, left). Since 1972,satellite sensors have been acquiring atmosphere, land, ice, and ocean data with increasing spectral and spatial resolution. Satellite remote sensing systems such as the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) help us to understand and monitor Earth's physical, chemical, and biological processes [ Running et al. , 1999].