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USGS EROS User Experience Webinars highlight the data, tools, and applications developed and used at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center.
Led by EROS User Services staff, these webinars connect you directly with the experts behind the science. The recordings of each webinar are added to this page, so check back often to see what's new!
Contact USGS EROS User Services to be notified when new webinar dates are announced!
April 2026
This webinar introduced participants to the purpose, value, and workflow of Landsat Special Requests. We began with a brief review of Landsat’s Data Acquisition Plan, which directs the acquisitions of nearly 750 scenes each day for Landsat 8 and Landsat 9, and explains why most acquisitions focus on daytime land surfaces. After establishing this foundation, we explored how Special Requests allow scientists to obtain observations that fall outside of the standard acquisition plan.
Using real-world examples including nighttime urban heat measurements and near polar ice extent imaging, we demonstrated how Special Requests expand research possibilities across a wide range of scientific applications.
Participants learned:
We also discussed typical timelines, limitations, and common reasons for approval or denial to help users set realistic expectations.
By the end of the session, participants should have a clear, practical understanding of when and how to submit effective Landsat Special Requests and how these acquisitions can significantly enhance scientific investigations.
April 2026
The ASTER instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite has collected over 4.7 million observations since its launch in 2000. ASTER data helps advance research and applications for volcano monitoring, mineral and geologic mapping, topography, and land cover change. NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) at the USGS EROS Center processes ASTER observations into 11 standard products that are archived within the Earthdata Cloud environment.
Key improvements in ASTER Version 4 include:
ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Japan Space Systems.
This webinar covered product enhancements, new formats, changes in data access, and innovative ways to process and analyze ASTER data. Live demonstrations on accessing data in NASA Earthdata Seach, opening and working with the data in QGIS, and a walkthrough of the “Exploring ASTER L1T Radiance” Python script were provided.
January 2026
The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium offers great tools for accessing and analyzing land cover data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). During this webinar you will learn about two key MRLC tools:
These tools support visualization, analysis, and data downloads. Demonstrations of the MRLC Viewer and EVA tool will be provided, showcasing how to use the tools to explore Annual NLCD products, visualize land cover and land cover change, request custom downloads, and how to generate county-level land cover change statistics between selected years.
July 2025
The powerful Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS) provides access to more than 100 geospatial datasets from multiple agencies, including several NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), the USGS EROS Center, and the National Park Service (NPS).
AppEEARS allows users an efficient way to access and transform geospatial data and explore results prior to download by:
This webinar provides a background on AppEEARS, several demonstrations of the application, and a question-and-answer session at the end.
April 2025
When Landsat Collection 2 data became available in 2020, access opened up in the cloud—bringing Landsat to users where they work and unlocking faster, more efficient analysis at scale. Landsat data are in uncompressed Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) format and are available from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Simple Storage Services (S3).
Accessing Landsat data in the cloud allows users to:
This webinar focuses on accessing and processing Landsat products in the cloud, assisting users on improving their existing workflows by using common programming tools available in the commercial cloud. Demonstrations of some tutorial scripts are also included.
October 2024
The genesis of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) began in the early 1990s, when a group of Federal agencies with a common need for Landsat data established the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium.
Advances in cloud computing, improved sensor technologies, and AI-based algorithm development allowed the USGS in 2024 to release a new collection of next generation land cover data. The resulting Annual NLCD includes:
This webinar provides information on the history of NLCD, details on the new Annual NLCD dataset, plans for future datasets, and the impacts and influence NLCD data have had on science applications, land managers, and decision-makers.
September 2024
The USGS EarthExplorer (EE) application provides online search, browse display, metadata export, data download, and processing support for the USGS EROS center's data holdings.
Topics covered in the webinar include:
April 2024
The Earth surface Mineral dust source InvesTigation (EMIT) imaging spectrometer aboard the International Space Station, measures the spectrum of light ranging from the visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR). The data identify the distinct spectral signatures or fingerprints of surface materials present.
The EMIT mission has embraced open science, making the entire science data system open source, enabling intercomparison and transportability between systems.
In this webinar you will learn about EMIT data products, how to access the data, and resources available from the LP DAAC for working with the data.
September 2023
Landsat products are used to monitor, assess, and project how changes in land use, land cover, and land condition affect people and nature.
Since 1972, the joint USGS/ NASA Landsat series of Earth Observation satellites have continuously acquired images of the Earth’s land surface.
This webinar provides an overview of:
April 2023
The USGS Bulk Download Web Application (BDWA) can be used for downloading bulk data orders from various USGS EROS tools.
This webinar covers:
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “Simplifying Geospatial Data Workflows with NASA's AppEEARS”. This webinar was recorded on July 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “Simplifying Geospatial Data Workflows with NASA's AppEEARS”. This webinar was recorded on July 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “An Introduction to Landsat Data Access and Processing in the Cloud!.” This webinar was recorded on April 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “An Introduction to Landsat Data Access and Processing in the Cloud!.” This webinar was recorded on April 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “The New Annual (1985-2023) National Land Cover Database: Improving on a 30-year Legacy.” This webinar was recorded on October 24, 2024 at the USGS EROS.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “The New Annual (1985-2023) National Land Cover Database: Improving on a 30-year Legacy.” This webinar was recorded on October 24, 2024 at the USGS EROS.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains one of the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS, we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains one of the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS, we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
This is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “EMIT: Imaging Spectroscopy, Surface Mineralogy, and Greenhouse Gas Products and Resources Available from the LP DAAC”. This webinar was recorded on May 30, 2024.
This is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “EMIT: Imaging Spectroscopy, Surface Mineralogy, and Greenhouse Gas Products and Resources Available from the LP DAAC”. This webinar was recorded on May 30, 2024.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policy makers across the nation and around the world.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policy makers across the nation and around the world.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “Simplifying Geospatial Data Workflows with NASA's AppEEARS”. This webinar was recorded on July 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “Simplifying Geospatial Data Workflows with NASA's AppEEARS”. This webinar was recorded on July 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “An Introduction to Landsat Data Access and Processing in the Cloud!.” This webinar was recorded on April 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “An Introduction to Landsat Data Access and Processing in the Cloud!.” This webinar was recorded on April 17, 2025.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “The New Annual (1985-2023) National Land Cover Database: Improving on a 30-year Legacy.” This webinar was recorded on October 24, 2024 at the USGS EROS.
This video is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “The New Annual (1985-2023) National Land Cover Database: Improving on a 30-year Legacy.” This webinar was recorded on October 24, 2024 at the USGS EROS.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains one of the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS, we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains one of the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS, we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
This is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “EMIT: Imaging Spectroscopy, Surface Mineralogy, and Greenhouse Gas Products and Resources Available from the LP DAAC”. This webinar was recorded on May 30, 2024.
This is a recording of a previous webinar entitled: “EMIT: Imaging Spectroscopy, Surface Mineralogy, and Greenhouse Gas Products and Resources Available from the LP DAAC”. This webinar was recorded on May 30, 2024.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers across the nation and around the world.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policy makers across the nation and around the world.
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center maintains the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface. At EROS we study land change and produce land change data products used by researchers, resource managers, and policy makers across the nation and around the world.