dataset · Global
NASA SNWG/OPERA Project
This dataset contains Level-3 Dynamic OPERA surface water extent product version 1. The data are validated surface water extent observations beginning April 2023. Known issues and caveats on usage are described under Documentation. The input dataset for generating each product is the Harmonized Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A/B/C (HLS) product version 2.0. HLS products provide surface reflectance (SR) data from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) aboard the Landsat 8 satellite and the MultiSpectral Inst
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: [Creative Commons BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Evidence quality: 33.5
Listed in aws-odr public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- surface water extent (DSWx-HLS) · surface water extent from Sentinel-1 (DSWx-S1) · vegetation disturbance alerts (DIST-ALERT-HLS) · annual vegetation disturbance (DIST-ANN-HLS) · calibration/validation database for DSWx-S1
- Coverage docs-verified
- Near-global (DSWx-S1) · From April 2023 (validated DSWx-HLS observations)
- Resolution docs-verified
- 30 m spatial (DSWx-S1 and HLS-based products); DSWx-S1 temporal revisit 6-12 days
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Varies by dataset
- Formats docs-verified
- GeoTIFF · Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG)
- Access docs-verified
- Earthdata Login account required; AWS S3 buckets (us-west-2) listed as Controlled Access; licence Creative Commons BY 4.0
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- FRA baseline surface water extent from DSWx-S1 radar observations, independent of cloud cover · Flood model calibration/validation reference using the DSWx-S1 CalVal database · Vegetation disturbance screening for BNG habitat change baselines using DIST-ALERT-HLS
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood consultants · hydrologists · GIS analysts · ecologists · remote sensing analysts
Limitations
- Constraints docs-verified
- DSWx-S1 maps only open inland water bodies greater than 3 hectares and 200 meters in width · DSWx-S1 forward production began Sept 2024, so its record is short · OPERA_L3_DIST-ALERT-HLS V0 was decommissioned on April 25, 2025; use V1 · DIST-ANN summary has latency that depends on algorithmic calibration · DEM layer carries a Copernicus disclaimer: no legal responsibility or liability assumed for its use · Calibration/validation database requires contacting podaac@podaac.jpl.nasa.gov · Additional usage constraints apply (ATBD Section 5 and Known Issues)
Evidence
- arn:aws:s3:::podaac-ops-cumulus-protected/OPERA_L3_DSWX-HLS_V1, arn:aws:s3:::podaac-ops-cumulus-protected/OPERA_L3_DSWX-S1_V1, arn:aws:s3:::podaac-ops-cumulus-protected/OPERA_DSWX-S1_CALVAL_V1
- https://registry.opendata.aws/nasa-snwg-opera/
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.