GRACE / GRACE-FO (NASA JPL / GFZ)
The only direct global measurement of aquifer depletion. Coarse in space — individual fields don't show up, regional trends do.
What this is
GRACE and GRACE-FO detect terrestrial water storage changes from variations in Earth's gravity field. Monthly global coverage at ~150,000 km² footprint, 2002–present (gap 2017–2018). Available via NASA's PO.DAAC and the GRACE Tellus portal.
Why we surface it
There is no other way to observe groundwater depletion from space. Resolution is coarse — individual fields are invisible — but regional aquifer trends are legible. In heavily irrigated basins (Ogallala, Indus, Central Valley), this is the only open signal of long-run water risk.
What you can do with it
Shown for commercial use. Personal, research, and nonprofit use is often more permissive — switch the verdict lens on the catalog.
- Internal / individual use
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
- Redistribute the data
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
- Republish a derivative
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
- Build into a private product
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
This decoder is a starting point, not legal advice. For commercial deployment, run the actual license terms past someone who reads them for a living.
○ Planned
Not in the map yet — this source is on the V1 backlog. Schema, sample, and citation slots fill in once the layer ships.
Related — same domain
- LANID — Landsat-based Irrigation Dataset for the United StatesCC-BY 4.0 for the 1997–2017 core (credit Xie & Lark, University of Wisconsin–Madison). The 2018–2020 extension is a US federal work, so uncopyrighted — but USGS asks it be passed on unedited and cited, and we reproject and tile it. Cite that half and say what changed; it isn't unconditional public domain.
- Center-pivot polygons from GMIE (UFFDA calls this set GCPIS)CC0 1.0 — no restriction on reuse
- FAO WaPOR v3 (FAO)CC-BY-SA 4.0 (v3; attribution + share-alike on redistribution; commercial use permitted)
- FAO GMIA / AQUASTAT irrigated areas (FAO)CC-BY 4.0 with FAO commercial-promotion restriction