EASE-Grid 2.0: Incremental but Significant Improvements for Earth-Gridded Data Sets

TLDR

EASE‑Grid, introduced in the early 1990s for satellite passive‑microwave data, became widely used but its design prevents GeoTIFF formatting without reprojection and makes importing into mapping software error‑prone. The article proposes a new EASE‑Grid 2.0 standard that corrects the original grid’s limitations. The authors specify the revised grid geometry and metadata to enable GeoTIFF compatibility and reduce reprojection errors. Datasets following the EASE‑Grid 2.0 standard are easier to import into standard software and reduce the reprojection errors common with the original definition.

Abstract

Defined in the early 1990s for use with gridded satellite passive microwave data, the Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid (EASE-Grid) was quickly adopted and used for distribution of a variety of satellite and in situ data sets. Conceptually easy to understand, EASE-Grid suffers from limitations that make it impossible to format in the widely popular GeoTIFF convention without reprojection. Importing EASE-Grid data into standard mapping software packages is nontrivial and error-prone. This article defines a standard for an improved EASE-Grid 2.0 definition, addressing how the changes rectify issues with the original grid definition. Data distributed using the EASE-Grid 2.0 standard will be easier for users to import into standard software packages and will minimize common reprojection errors that users had encountered with the original EASE-Grid definition.