DeepExtremeCubes: Earth system spatio-temporal data for assessing compound heatwave and drought impacts

Abstract With climate extremes’ rising frequency and intensity, robust analytical tools are crucial to predict their impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Machine learning techniques show promise but require well-structured, high-quality, and curated analysis-ready datasets. Earth observation datasets...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chaonan Ji, Tonio Fincke, Vitus Benson, Gustau Camps-Valls, Miguel-Ángel Fernández-Torres, Fabian Gans, Guido Kraemer, Francesco Martinuzzi, David Montero, Karin Mora, Oscar J. Pellicer-Valero, Claire Robin, Maximilian Söchting, Mélanie Weynants, Miguel D. Mahecha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Data
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04447-5
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract With climate extremes’ rising frequency and intensity, robust analytical tools are crucial to predict their impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Machine learning techniques show promise but require well-structured, high-quality, and curated analysis-ready datasets. Earth observation datasets comprehensively monitor ecosystem dynamics and responses to climatic extremes, yet the data complexity can challenge the effectiveness of machine learning models. Despite recent progress in deep learning to ecosystem monitoring, there is a need for datasets specifically designed to analyse compound heatwave and drought extreme impact. Here, we introduce the DeepExtremeCubes database, tailored to map around these extremes, focusing on persistent natural vegetation. It comprises over 40,000 globally sampled small data cubes (i.e. minicubes), with a spatial coverage of 2.5 by 2.5 km. Each minicube includes (i) Sentinel-2 L2A images, (ii) ERA5-Land variables and generated extreme event cube covering 2016 to 2022, and (iii) ancillary land cover and topography maps. The paper aims to (1) streamline data accessibility, structuring, pre-processing, and enhance scientific reproducibility, and (2) facilitate biosphere dynamics forecasting in response to compound extremes.
ISSN:2052-4463