ORNL DAAC Data Release - BioSCape Foliar Trait & Spectroscopy Data, L1B Calibrated Radiance & L2A Surface Relfectance

[ORNL - blancohl]

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC) released new datasets for the BioSCape project.

The Biodiversity Survey of the Cape (BioSCape) is an international collaboration between South Africa and the United States to study biodiversity in South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR). The GCFR was selected due to two exceptional hotspots of both terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. The GCFR is listed among the World’s 200 Significant Ecoregions. BioSCape is an integrated field and airborne campaign occurring in 2023. The campaign collected UV/visible to short wavelength infrared (UVSWIR) and thermal imaging spectroscopy and laser altimetry (LiDAR) data over terrestrial and aquatic targets using four airborne instruments: Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG), Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter (PRISM), Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS), and Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES). The airborne data set is unique in its size and scope and unprecedented in its instrument combination and level of detail. These airborne data were accompanied by a range of biodiversity-related field observations. BioSCape’s primary objective is to understand the structure, function, and composition of the region’s ecosystems, and to learn about how and why they are changing in time and space[SP1.1]

Foliar Trait and Spectroscopy Data, Greater Cape Floristic Region, South Africa
This dataset holds foliar trait measurements, species-level life history traits, visible-near infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy, and vegetation survey data for plant communities within the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa. Foliar traits measurements were made between 2010 and 2014. Data from releve surveys include plots from 1966 to 2014. Trait collection efforts extended over 5.8% of the GCFR's total area, where measurements were made for 1,327 species from 99 families. The trait dataset comprises 135,325 leaf and twig structural measurements, 7,513 canopy measurements and 11,950 elemental/isotopic measurements. The spectroscopy dataset contains 3,205 VNIR spectral measurements (450-949 nm) of 1,181 species from 96 families. These data contribute to research initiatives such as the Biodiversity Survey of the Cape (BioSCape) project and help understand this ecosystem from a trait-based perspective. The data are provided in comma separated values (CSV) format.

BioSCape: PRISM L1B Calibrated Radiance
This dataset holds Level 1B (L1B) calibrated radiance data collected by the Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter (PRISM) instrument. The data were acquired in October-November 2023 for the Biodiversity Survey of the Cape (BioSCape), an international collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) to study biodiversity in South Africa's Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR). PRISM is a compact image spectrometer that acquires data in the near ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (IR) spectral bands between 350 and 1050 nanometers with 3.5 nm spectral resolution. PRISM also has a two-channel spot radiometer at short-wave infrared (SWIR) band (1240 nm and 1640 nm) in order to provide accurate atmospheric correction of the ocean color measurements. PRISM's capabilities make it well suited for studies of aquatic and coastal ecosystems. It was deployed on a NASA Gulfstream III aircraft. This dataset includes calibrated radiance and observational parameters in NetCDF format, quicklook images as TIFF images, and processing information in text-based YAML format.

BioSCape: PRISM L2A Orthocorrected Surface Reflectance
This dataset holds Level 2A (L2A) orthocorrected, scaled surface reflectance data collected by the Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter (PRISM) instrument. These L2A data were derived from the L1B dataset described above. The data are provided in NetCDF format along with quicklook images and processing information.

More information on these datasets and others like it can be found on the BioSCape Project landing page..

Citations:
Frye, H., Aiello-Lammens, M. E., Euston-Brown, D., Jones, C. S., Kilroy Mollmann, H., Merow, C., Slingsby, J. A., van der Merwe, H., Turner, R., Wilson, A. M., & Silander Jr, J. A. (2026). Foliar Trait and Spectroscopy Data, Greater Cape Floristic Region, South Africa (Version 1). ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2482

Greenberg, E., Brodrick, P. G., Thompson, D. R., Chlus, A. M., Bohn, N., Montgomery, J., Chapman, J. W., Wilder, B. A., Eastwood, M., Lundeen, S. R., Eckert, R., Olson-Duvall, W., Kokaly, R. F., & Green, R. O. (2026). BioSCape: PRISM L2A Orthocorrected Surface Reflectance (Version 1). ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2494

Thompson, D. R., Eckert, R., Bernas, M., Brodrick, P. G., Chlus, A. M., Chapman, J. W., Eastwood, M., Bender, H., Geier, S., Greenberg, E., Keymeulen, D., Liggett, E., Olson-Duvall, W., Rios, L. M., Brunner, E. D., Jensen, D. J., Zandbergen, S., Small, Z., Shaw, L. A., … Green, R. O. (2026). BioSCape: PRISM L1B Calibrated Radiance (Version 1). ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2493