Articles | Volume 18, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-5375-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-5375-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Democratizing planetary-scale analysis: an ultra-lightweight Earth embedding database for accurate and flexible global land monitoring
Shuang Chen
Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Jie Wang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
Shuai Yuan
Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Jiayang Li
Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
Yu Xia
Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
Yuanhong Liao
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Junbo Wei
Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
Jincheng Yuan
Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
Xiaoqing Xu
Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China
Xiaolin Zhu
Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Hongsheng Zhang
Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Yuyu Zhou
Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Haohuan Fu
Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
Huabing Huang
School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Fan Dai
Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Peng Gong
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Data sets
Embedded Seamless Data: An ultra-lightweight Earth embedding database for accurate and flexible global land monitoring Shuang Chen https://doi.org/10.12436/iEarth.0000.20251229.000064.v1
Short summary
Monitoring our planet with satellites produces massive datasets too large for researchers to handle. We created a new global database that condenses 25 years of Landsat and MODIS observations into a highly efficient format (Analysis-ready embedding vectors) using AI. By reducing data size by over 340 times while maintaining high accuracy, we allow global studies to be run on standard PC. Makes planetary research accessible to everyone and helps us better track environmental changes over time.
Monitoring our planet with satellites produces massive datasets too large for researchers to...
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