G3WBM / G1WBM

Global 3-second / 1-second Water Body Map

The Global 3 arc-second Water Body Map (G3WBM) and the 1 arc-second version (G1WBM) are global surface water datasets developed using multi-temporal Landsat imagery from the Global Land Survey (GLS) archive.

The datasets distinguish permanent water bodies from temporally inundated areas by analyzing water occurrence frequency across overlapping Landsat scenes.

Dataset Overview

  • Resolution:
    • 3 arc-second (~90 m) – G3WBM
    • 1 arc-second (~30 m) – G1WBM
  • Derived from: Multi-temporal Landsat GLS archive (33,890 scenes across 4 epochs)
  • Seamless global coverage without cloud/snow gaps
  • Clear separation of river channels and floodplains based on water frequency analysis

G3WBM Example

Example: Amazon floodplain and Ob River

Data Description

File Format

  • GeoTIFF
  • 5° × 5° tiles
  • Filename represents the center of the lower-left pixel
    Example: n30w120_wat.tif covers N30–N35, W120–W115
  • Tiles are distributed in 30° × 30° compressed packages (.tar)

Tile Structure

Classification Scheme

Value Description
0 Land
1 Land (No Landsat observation)
10 Snow
20 Wet soil / Wet vegetation / Lava
30 Salt marsh
40 Temporal flooded area
50 Permanent water
51 Permanent water (added by SWBD)
99 Ocean

Reference Paper

Please cite the following paper when using G3WBM/G1WBM:

Yamazaki, D., Trigg, M., & Ikeshima, D. (2015)
Development of a global ~90 m water body map using multi-temporal Landsat images
Remote Sensing of Environment
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2015.10.014

Citation of the paper is sufficient for general dataset use.
If substantial additional support or processing is provided, acknowledgement or co-authorship may be requested.

Download G3WBM/G1WBM

How to obtain the data

  1. Register via the Google Form (license agreement)
  2. Receive the password by email
  3. Access the download page.

Registration (Required)

Please register to obtain access:

Google Form Registration

Alternatively, contact:
yamadai [at] iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Download (Password Required)

All datasets are distributed via Dropbox (password protected):

G3WBM/G1WBM Dropbox Download Folder

Available products:

  • G3WBM ver 1.3 (GeoTIFF tiles, packaged by 30° × 30°)
  • G1WBM ver 1.0 (GeoTIFF tiles, packaged by 30° × 30°)

License

G3WBM/G1WBM is licensed under:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)
License details

By downloading and using the data, users agree to the terms of this license.

We kindly ask users not to redistribute the complete dataset in its original format on other websites without written permission from the authors.

Version Information

G3WBM

  • Current Version: ver 1.3 (20 March 2018)
    • ver1.1: Improved river–ocean boundary
    • ver1.2: Bug fix around river mouths
    • ver1.3: Grid coordination fix; license changed to CC-BY 4.0

G1WBM

  • Current Version: ver 1.0 (20 March 2018)
    • First release of 1 arc-second version

Contact

Institute of Industrial Sciences
The University of Tokyo

yamadai [at] iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp