Other Databases


In curating this database, we have relied extensively on primary scientific literature, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and industry reports. In many cases, one resource can provide a cournicopia of data that help us understand the Earth-human system. In many of the entries in the Human Impacts Database, we directly link to the relevant external databases, reports, or repositories. Here, we list some of those we frequently use and may be of interest to those who want a more granular view of the data we summarize here.

Food & Agricultural Data


FAOSTAT — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: fao.org/faostat
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations houses a large repository of data relating to agricultural inputs/outputs, economic indicators, population and employment statistics, and trade information. The data is provided at regional and global scales for 245 countries. Timeseries are available for most datasets, often extending from 1961 to present. The data is periodically updated as new data comes in and is appropriately processed.

FISHSTAT — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:fao.org/fishery
The Fishery and Aquaculture database from the FAO contains an array of data tracking fishery and aquaculture statistics at global and regional level. They provide software (FISHSTAT) which facilitates quick navigation of this vast database, though one can make queries directly on the website. Timeseries are available for most data and the database is regularly updated.

Climate & Atmospheric Data


FAOSTAT — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: fao.org/faostat
In addition to providing data on food and agricultural inputs/outputs, FAOSTAT also provides an array of data corresponding to greenhouse gas emissions at regional and global levels, often with timeseries available.

NOAA GML — NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory: gml.noaa.gov
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is a governmental organization of the United States. The Global Monitoring Laboratory amasses data related to the carbon cycle and greenhouse gas feedbacks, surface radiation, cloud cover, and other. They provide information regarding the method of collection and describe their monitoring locations and the analysis needed to process the data they report.

NOAA Climate Monitoring: ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-monitoring
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is a governmental organization of the United States. Their Climate Monitoring collection provides an array of data pertaining to climate trends. Data is released monthly and provided at global and national scales. Information released month-to-month can be varied and diverse.

EarthAtlas: earthatlas.sr.unh.edu/maps
The EarthAtlas is an application for mapping Earth system data (primarily hydrology data) with geospatial resolution. It is targetted for experts in these types of data and provides a wide array of data sets with remarkable precision. It is developed and maintained by the Water Systems Analysis Group (WSAG) at the University of New Hampsire, NH, USA.

Earth System Data Lab: earthsystemdatalab.net The Earth System Data Lab provides an intriguing way to discover and explore a variety of datasets summarizing Earth system science. All entries in this database necessarily manipulate the original data in space and time to allow a visual geospatial exploration of data.

EDGAR — Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research: data.jrc.ec.europa.edu/collection/edgar
The EDGAR database is a collection in the larger Joint Research Centre (JRC) Data Catalog which is managed by the JRC and European Commission. This database houses ≈ 30 datasets related to anthropogenic emissions. The data is an independent estimate of the trends based on publicly available statistics and is provided at great spatial resolution. The data provided covers the years from 1971 to the 3rd most recent year.

Oceanic Data


Copernicus Marine Service: marine.coperniculs.eu
The Copernicus Programme is a European-Union operated Earth observation system which provides information related to Earth's oceans and seas. Data is a combination of satellite observation and in-situ measurements/reports. All data is freely available at various levels of resolution.

Energy Use & Production Data


British Petroleum (BP) Statistical Review of World Energy: bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/
The Statistical Review of World Energy is a annual report by British Petroleum summarizing the extent of energy use and production by region and by type. The data is released as both infographic-style PDFs, PDF tables, and as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Energy Information Administration (EIA) Total Energy Data: eia.gov/totalenergy
The EIA is a governmental organization run by the United States. It collects and reports a large array of energy input/output information, typically given as a time series. Data can be downloaded directly or explored using their data browser.

International Energy Agency (IEA) - Data and Statistics: iea.org/data-and-statistics
The IEA is an intergovernmental organization based in Paris, FR whose goal is to provide policy recommendations to its member states (and others) to advance energy security and clean energy transitions. A major goal of its work is to collect robust and varied statistical data regarding world energy usage trends in many different aspects and is best known for its annual "World Energy Outlook" report.

Global Biodiversity


IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: iucnredlist.org/search
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is a private, non-governmental organization which tabulates data on biodiversity and species endangerment/extinction. Data is made publicly available, with some stipulations. Please read their terms of use agreement before using their data.