Dataset

Planetary-scale geospatial data catalog

Free & Open Data API 1 source

A multi-petabyte catalogue of analysis-ready geospatial datasets, Landsat, Sentinel, MODIS, DEMs, land-cover classifications, population grids and climate reanalysis, hosted for server-side computation, free for research and non-commercial use.

Dataset card

Google Earth Engine's planetary-scale geospatial data catalog is a Free & Open repository of analysis-ready Earth observation layers hosted on Google's cloud platform. It is offered free for research and non-commercial use and indexes petabyte-scale imagery and derived products covering land, population, and the atmosphere.

What this dataset contains

The catalog aggregates public and partner-contributed geospatial layers, including satellite imagery, land-cover classifications, and population-grid surfaces, exposed through Earth Engine's data API. Coverage is global and analysis-ready, meaning tiles are pre-processed for direct ingestion into the platform's computation environment rather than delivered as raw downloads.

Structure and fields

The provider's documentation does not enumerate a fixed tabular schema; individual assets expose raster bands rather than named columns. Common attributes surfaced through the API include asset ID, start and end time, spatial extent, band names such as B4 and B8 for multispectral imagery, and derived bands for land-cover and population-grid products.

How analysts use it

Analysts use the catalog to compute NDVI, land-cover change, settlement extent, and population density over custom regions and time windows without managing raw imagery. For investment purposes, the layers can support thematic exposures in real-asset and commodity research, such as tracking agricultural land use, urban expansion, deforestation, or exposure of portfolios to physical climate risk.

Documentation & references 2
  1. Google Earth Engine/Planetary-scale geospatial data catalog: listing on the provider website
  2. Google Earth Engine: official website

Further reading

All guides
  • How funds evaluate alternative data vendorsEvaluating alternative-data providers: research fit, provenance, historical timing, permitted use and the evidence needed for an informed purchasing decision.
  • Open vs commercial alternative dataWhat free and open datasets can and cannot do: where public data rivals paid panels, where it cannot compete, and how open sources fit a professional research workflow.
  • Alternative data for hedge fundsA practical guide to alternative data for hedge funds: team design, budget sequencing, infrastructure, vendor portfolio construction and the metrics that show whether the program creates investment value.
  • Free alternative data sourcesThe practical list of free alternative-data sources for investors: public filings, official statistics, satellite and earth observation, on-chain data, web archives and open registries, what each covers, what it costs in engineering effort, and where free data falls short.

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