USGS Released Remote Sensing Phenology Data for 2025

The data set provides seasonal timing and productivity metrics for tracking vegetation growth across the United States.

Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Geography

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of geometric forest shapes representing vegetation density, evoking the analytical nature of remote sensing scientific data. — The U.S. Geological Survey has published its 2025 remote sensing phenology data set, offering standardized metrics for tracking seasonal vegetation growth cycles across the United States. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a comprehensive set of remote sensing phenology metrics for the 2025 season. This data provides researchers with information on vegetation growth cycles, including seasonal timing and productivity.

Why it matters

These standardized metrics allow scientists to track vegetation life cycles across the country, providing consistent data for environmental monitoring. The release provides a long-term view of how plants respond to varying climate conditions across the landscape.

The release includes 7 distinct data sets covering Continental United States (CONUS) phenology at resolutions of 1 km (AVHRR), 250 m (eMODIS), and 375 m (eVIIRS). The USGS recommends the C6 eMODIS data to avoid quality issues observed with the MODIS Terra sensor after 2007.

The players

USGS

A scientific agency of the United States government that monitors the landscape, natural hazards, and biological resources.

USGS/EROS Center

The Earth Resources Observation and Science Center responsible for the distribution of satellite imagery and land science data.

The details

The metrics measure biological timing including Start of Season Time, End of Season Time, and Maximum Time, alongside productivity indicators like Time Integrated NDVI—a measure of total seasonal photosynthetic activity. Phenology metrics are derived by tracking shifts in NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), a satellite-based calculation that quantifies vegetation density and health based on how plants reflect specific light wavelengths. These calculations allow for precise monitoring of vegetation health across the United States.

2007: MODIS Terra sensor began experiencing degradation.
2025: Phenology metrics cover this annual season.

The Tech Race

The release follows the standard update cycle set by the USGS remote sensing phenology research program. It maintains the continuity of long-term environmental monitoring datasets used to assess vegetation changes across the United States.

Researchers and environmental scientists can access these datasets directly through the USGS/EROS Center portal to integrate them into their existing spatial analysis workflows. Users must reference the provided DOI (https://doi.org/10.5066/P9PZTNBI) in any formal publications resulting from this data.

The takeaway

This data release provides a consistent baseline for tracking the seasonal growth cycles of the U.S. landscape. Interested parties should monitor future USGS updates for refined eVIIRS datasets, which provide higher resolution than earlier sensor outputs.