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January 15, 2013

Version 8.12 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release incorporates website analytics and a customer survey that the USGS will use in the long term to improve its websites. Refer to the USGS explanation of how the survey works and how it is used.

December 27, 2012

Version 8.11 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. Primary changes to the web site include:

• The GLS dataset nomenclature has been fixed to remove the space before the year: GLS1975, GLS1990, GLS2000, GLS2005, and GLS2010. Saved Scene Lists having a space should continue to load.
• Saved Scene Lists now include a line:
  ee_dataset_name=DATASET_NAME
  where DATASET_NAME is recognized by EarthExplorer (EE). EarthExplorer users should watch that website for information on loading GloVis Saved Scene Lists. For more information, please see the GloVis User Guide.
• The Search for Address feature under Map Layers has been updated.

October 30, 2012

Version 8.10 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. Primary changes to the web site include:

• The Landsat 4-7 Combined dataset is now called Landsat 4 - Present in preparation for the launch of Landsat 8 in February, 2013.
• Links to related USGS websites in the green bar across the bottom of the page have been updated to include Ecosystems and Climate and Land Use Change.

September 18, 2012

Version 8.9 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release primarily adds new MODIS datasets. Changes include:

• GloVis now includes support for the following MODIS datasets.
  • MOD17A3 GPP and NPP (version: 055)
  • MOD44B Vegetation Continuous Fields (version: 005)
  • MCD15A3 LAI and FPAR (version: 005)
• The following MODIS datasets have additional versions available.
  • MOD11A1 and MYD11A1 Day and Night (version: 004)
  • MOD11A2 and MYD11A2 Day and Night (version: 004)
  • MOD11B1 and MYD11B1 Day and Night (version: 004)
  • MOD17A2 GPP and Net Photosynthesis (version: 055)
• The Help menu includes a link to the GloVis tri-fold brochure PDF.
• For GLS collections, the Scene Information box displays the date the scene was acquired.
• The Browser Requirements page includes updated instructions for Java.
• Internal improvements will help keep Landsat datasets in sync with EarthExplorer.

August 31, 2012

Version 8.8.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released to address a code signing issue reported by some versions of Java.

August 31, 2012

Version 8.8.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release fixes internal problems that prevented EO-1 and ASTER L1B data from updating correctly.

August 29, 2012

Version 8.8 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes:

• Landsat Level 1 metadata has changed, as described on the Landsat Web Site. This primarily affects the "Show Metadata" display.
• The Scene List now includes a "Clear List" option to delete all scenes.

August 23, 2012

Version 8.7.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes updates to hyperlinks to ASTER product information pages.

August 7, 2012

Version 8.7.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes updates to hyperlinks to ASTER and MODIS product information pages.

June 12, 2012

Version 8.7 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes:

• The GLS2010 EO-1 Islands dataset has been added to the GLS collection.
• The NDVI graphs include day-of-year hash marks across the top.

May 13, 2012

Version 8.6.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release contains minor updates for the latest EarthExplorer release which includes an improved Item Basket (Shopping Cart).

April 17, 2012

Version 8.6.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release updates the Browser Requirements page to explain that Java 1.6 Update 31 or higher is required.

April 2, 2012

Version 8.6 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes updates to the NAPP and NHAP glossaries and fixes a problem with downloading MRLC files and metadata.

March 16, 2012

Version 8.5 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds GLS2010 to the TerraLook collection.

February 13, 2012

Version 8.4 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes:

• The Level 1 Data Type for Landsat scenes is included in the metadata. Several other metadata fields have been updated across Landsat datasets.
• For datasets that offer on-demand processing, the Search Limits tool allows limiting the display to the scenes that are immediately downloadable.
• ASTER L1A includes the Japanese ASTER Granule ID in the metadata.
• The link for additional ASTER data has changed from WIST to Reverb.
• GLS2010 "Show Metadata" now correctly includes the Gap-Fill Percent and Gap-Fill Acquisition Date(s) fields.

This release also includes performance improvements for keeping the GloVis collections up-to-date.

October 13, 2011

Version 8.3.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release fixes the "Search for Scene" functionality for GLS2010 and includes some performance improvements for keeping GloVis collections up-to-date.

August 9, 2011

Version 8.3 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release fixes several minor bugs in the interface. Changes include:

• Links to FGDC Metadata from the "View Metadata" window have been fixed.
• The link to the source data for the Protected Areas map layers has been updated.
• The ground station code for Poker Flats has been corrected to PFS.
• Search for Scene when "Default To Selected Date" is checked displays the correct scene. From the Scene List, "Display" also displays the correct scene when "Default To Selected Date" is checked.
• When downloading browse and metadata, the dialog box uses the correct wording when choosing a directory rather than a file.
• Search for Scene in the ASTER datasets in row 1 using 400m resolution displays the correct scene. The active scene remains active and visible when changing from 1000m to 400m resolution. The 400m resolution now shows a broader geographic area.
• The Help menu includes an "About GloVis" option.

July 19, 2011

Version 8.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, the default starting sensor is L4-7 Combined. This release also includes a new banner at the top of the page and a few other minor updates to the interface. Changes include:

• The default starting sensor is L4-7 Combined.
• The banner at the top of the page has been modified.
• Search for Scene for GLS1975 L1-3 has been fixed.
• Closing the "Notice" box that sometimes appears when sending a Scene List to the Shopping Cart will cancel the "Send to Cart" action.
• The explanation of the "Downloadable" icon in the Browse Image Viewer corner has been updated.
• The TDD phone number is no longer displayed because the number is no longer active.
• The User Guide includes a new section with Tips for Advanced Users, including a technique to invoke a "pop-out" Browse Image Viewer, similar to pre-8.0 versions of GloVis.
• There have been some improvements to the way ASTER data is kept up-to-date.

May 11, 2011

Version 8.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes Global Land Survey (GLS) 2010 and adds the MCD43A2 and MCD43B2 datasets to MODIS. Changes include:

• GLS2010 data has been added to the GLS collection
• MCD43A2 and MCD43B2 have been added to the MODIS Combined collection
• The link to the User Guide from the Browse Viewer's Help menu has been fixed
• Some links to Landsat-related EROS web pages have been updated
• The web page will display a notice when EarthExplorer is down

March 17, 2011

Version 8.0 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release uses Java 1.6 and incorporates the Browse Image Viewer into the main page. Changes include:

• Java 1.6 (sometimes called simply Java 6) is required. See java.com for more information or to download or update your Java installation. Apple users, see the downloads area of www.apple.com.
• The Browse Image Viewer is embedded in the home page instead of being a separate pop-up from the second page.
• The blue links at the bottom of the home page have been rearranged.
• System notices, including information about scheduled downtimes and information about dataset issues, may be displayed by using the "System Notices" button near the top of the page (if there are any).

February 11, 2011

Version 7.26.9 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release uses the shopping cart from EarthExplorer. Changes include:

• In the Scene List, the Order/Submit and Download buttons and menu selections have been replaced with a Send to Cart option. From the New EarthExplorer shopping cart, you may download scenes, order specialized products, or submit scenes for on-demand processing, depending on the status of each scene.

November 16, 2010

Version 7.26.8 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes several minor updates. Changes include:

• The Product Information link for MODIS in the Help menu has been fixed.
• The Station Identifier codes have been updated in the Landsat metadata glossary.
• Handling of Landsat 1-3 MSS scenes has been modified to allow more scenes to be shown in GloVis.

July 29, 2010

Version 7.26.7 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes minor interface updates and a change to the way ASTER L1B data is kept in sync with the DAAC. Changes include:

• The e-mail address for ASTER and MODIS questions is now: lpdaac@usgs.gov.
• ASTER L1B data is no longer a rolling archive, so the full ASTER date range is available for Search Limits; older data will be populated in the coming months.
• The notice regarding ordering ASTER L1A has been updated.
• NDVI graph labels show the end of each date range.
• Product Information links for Landsat collections have been updated.

EarthExplorer is also available for searching and downloading ASTER L1B data.

May 24, 2010

Version 7.26.6 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes updates to the NDVI graphs. Changes in this release include:

• NDVI graphs will be updated every two weeks, so the current year's data will be available as it is processed.
• There is an additional FAQ tab on the NDVI Graph dialog box.
• The Help page FAQ, "Will ASTER L1B Data be available from the Land Processes DAAC Data Pool?" has been updated.

April 7, 2010

Version 7.26.5 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes several additional MODIS V005 datasets:

• MODIS Aqua collections
  • MYD09GQ
  • MYD09Q1
  • MYD13Q1 EVI, MYD13Q1 NDVI
• MODIS Terra collections
  • MOD09GQ
  • MOD09Q1
  • MOD13Q1 EVI, MOD13Q1 NDVI
• MODIS Combined collections
  • MCD43A1
  • MCD43A3
  • MCD43A4

March 23, 2010

Version 7.26.4 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes several additional MODIS V005 datasets, 2009 NDVI data, and a current Java Code Signing Certificate. Changes include:

• MODIS Aqua collections
  • MYD09GA
  • MYD11A2 Day, MYD11A2 Night
  • MYD13A3 EVI, MYD13A3 NDVI
  • MYD17A2 GPP, MYD17A2 Net Photosynthesis (Net PSN)
• MODIS Terra collections
  • MOD09GA
  • MOD11A2 Day, MOD11A2 Night
  • MOD13A3 EVI, MOD13A3 NDVI
  • MOD17A2 GPP, MOD17A2 Net Photosynthesis (Net PSN)
• MODIS Combined collections
  • MCD15A2 FPAR, MCD15A2 LAI
• NDVI Graph data for 2009 onward includes updated Landcover class names

Note: depending on browser security settings, users may have to accept the Java Code Signing certificate again before the applet will display.

March 8, 2010

Version 7.26.3 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes internal changes to improve ingest of MODIS scenes. Also with this release, the dialog box for searching MODIS scenes by ID will accept either the "Granule ID" or "Local Granule ID".

February 18, 2010

Version 7.26.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release includes some minor FAQ updates and an internal change to the way ASTER and MODIS collections are updated.

January 25, 2010

Version 7.26.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release is expected to resolve some issues we have experienced with ASTER ingests failing, causing GloVis to miss recent ASTER granules. This release also moves the "Combined" MODIS datasets into their own menu, in anticipation of the addition of more MODIS datasets later this Spring.

October 1, 2009

Version 7.26 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, EO-1 scenes over islands have been added to the GLS2005 dataset. Also in this release, ASTER L1B data, a rolling 2-year archive of granules over the United States and its territories, has been added.

September 9, 2009

Version 7.25 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, the maximum number of Landsat scenes that may be submitted for on-demand processing has been increased to 100.

July 29, 2009

Version 7.24 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, ASTER products are only available to authorized Educational, NASA Affiliated, or Federal partners. This release also includes some bug fixes. Changes include:

• Effective July 29, 2009, the Land Processes DAAC will no longer accept ASTER billable orders from the general public. If you are not an authorized Educational, NASA Affiliated, or Federal Partner, you may search, browse, and order ASTER data through Japan's interface. (IMS: http://imsweb.aster.ersdac.or.jp/ims/html/MainMenu/MainMenu.html)
• Fix a bug that prevented downloading ETM+ Pan Mosaic images.
• Fix a bug that caused occasional errors submitting scenes from the Landsat 4-7 Combined collection for processing to a standard product.
• Fix a bug that caused errors submitting large numbers of scenes for ordering when using Internet Explorer.

July 6, 2009

Version 7.23 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, Aerial products are no longer available for ordering as a high-resolution product (they are still available for download at no charge as a medium-resolution product). The TerraLook collection now consists of the ASTER and GLS datasets. The primary changes include:

• Aerial products may be downloaded as medium-resolution products only. No other ordering options are available.
• TerraLook collections may be created from ASTER VNIR, GLS2005, GLS2000, GLS1990, and GLS1975 datasets.
• Notice about Landsat Standard Terrain Correction (Level 1T) products has been updated.
• This release also includes the 2008 NDVI data.

Scenes from the Landsat archive are available at no charge, processed to Standard Terrain Correction (Level 1T). While some scenes do not have the ground-control or elevation data necessary to perform L1T correction, the best level of correction is applied. More details at Landsat Product Information.

June 15, 2009

Version 7.22 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, EO-1 ALI and Hyperion datasets are available for download at no charge as a standard Level 1 product. No other processing options are available.

May 28, 2009

Version 7.21 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, ASTER and MODIS will be better synchronized with the DAAC holdings; these changes are internal to the system, but users may notice fewer discrepancies between GloVis and DAAC holdings. For MODIS datasets, the 10-digit portion of the Granule ID is now shown in addition to the Local Granule ID in the Scene Information box and the Show Metadata window. For MODIS multi-day composite datasets, all scenes in the composite are now visible.

May 8, 2009

Version 7.20 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, the Global Land Survey (GLS) 1990 and 1975 datasets have been added. Some of the collection menus have also been reorganized. The main changes include:

• GLS1990 collection was added.
• GLS1975 collection was added, with separate collections for Landsat 4-5 (which uses the WRS-2 system) and Landsat 1-3 (WRS-1). The Landsat 4-5 MSS data has sparse coverage and was used only to fill in gaps in coverage for the GLS1975 Landsat 1-3 dataset.
• All of the GLS datasets have been moved to a "Global Land Survey" collection.
• The MRLC/MTBS Radiance and Reflectance datasets have been moved to a "Landsat MRLC" collection.
• The Tri-Decadal datasets, Systematic L1G (which provided input into the Tri-Decadal data), and the NALC datasets have been moved to a "Landsat Legacy" collection.

December 8, 2008

Version 7.19 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, all of the Landsat 4-5 TM and Landsat 1-5 MSS images are available for download at no charge as standard products. If a scene is not available for immediate download, it may be submitted for on-demand processing to a standard product. NOTES: These scenes are found in the Landsat Archive collection and will be placed in the USGS Shopping Basket. You will not be charged for Landsat scenes. For other orderable scenes there will be a charge, as shown in the Shopping Basket. For more information about Landsat data, please see the Landsat Web page. The main changes include:

• All Landsat 4-5 TM images are available for download or can be requested to be made available for download at no charge as standard products.
• All Landsat 4-5 MSS images are available for download or can be requested to be made available for download at no charge as standard products.
• All Landsat 1-3 MSS images are available for download or can be requested to be made available for download at no charge as standard products.

NOTE: All previously-offered USGS Landsat products will be discontinued.

October 8, 2008

Version 7.18.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. For the Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off and SLC-on datasets, the Scene List now shows a "Submit" button rather than an "Order" button. If a scene is not available for immediate download, it may be submitted for on-demand processing to a standard product. NOTE: scenes will be placed in the USGS Shopping Basket, but you will not be charged for Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off or SLC-on scenes. For other scenes, including Landsat 4-5 TM and Landsat 1-5 MSS, there will be a charge, as shown in the Shopping Basket. For more information about Landsat data, please see the Landsat Web page.

September 30, 2008

Version 7.18 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, all of the Landsat 7 ETM+ images are available for download at no charge as a standard product. Several other datasets are now available for download only. The main changes include:

• All Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off and SLC-on images are downloadable at no charge as a standard product. If an image is not available for immediate download, it may be ordered for on-demand processing to a standard product which will be downloadable upon completion of processing.
• The following datasets are now available only as downloadable products. Additional ordering options are no longer available.
  • Landsat Decadal
    • ETM+ (1999-2003)
    • ETM+ Pan (1999-2003)
    • ETM+ Pan Mosaics
    • TM (1987-1997)
    • TM Mosaics
    • MSS 4-5 (1982-1987)
    • MSS 1-3 (1972-1983)
  • Landsat Science
    • MRLC/MTBS Reflectance
    • MRLC/MTBS Radiance
    • NALC Triplicates
• The contact e-mail address has changed to custserv@usgs.gov, or lpdaac@eos.nasa.gov for ASTER and MODIS questions. The old glovis@usgs.gov e-mail address will be deactivated.

August 25, 2008

Version 7.17 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. With this release, the NAPP dataset is available for download and the Systematic L1G ETM+ dataset has been added, also as a download. The main changes include:

• NAPP medium resolution digitized scenes are downloadable at no charge
• Systematic L1G data is available under the "Landsat Science" Collection
• Landsat-related FAQs on the About Browse page have been updated.

July 31, 2008

Version 7.16 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release updates the Protected Area Points and Protected Area Polygons Map Layers to the December, 2007 version of the World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA) Consortium data. This release also includes the 2007 NDVI data.

June 30, 2008

Version 7.15 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release changes the mechanism for downloading the GloVis source code. Also with this release, NHAP scenes are available for download at no charge. The main changes include:

• Source code download goes through EarthExplorer registration
• NHAP medium resolution digitized scenes are downloadable at no charge
• Fixed a bug that caused some missing GLS2000 and GLS2005 scenes
• Fixed a bug in "Download Visible Browse & Metadata" for Landsat 4-7 Combined
• Changed the name of the World Cities map layer to Cities

June 2, 2008

Version 7.14 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release fixes some bugs in the "Search for Scene" and "Load Saved Scene List" functionality for the ASTER and Landsat 7 SLC-off Standard L1T collections.

April 10, 2008

Version 7.13 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release changes ASTER and MODIS ordering from the DAAC shopping cart to the same USGS shopping basket used by other collections. The main changes include:

• Update ASTER and MODIS datasets to use the USGS shopping basket
• Minor updates to the "About Browse" page

February 1, 2008

Version 7.12.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for the Global Land Survey (GLS) 2005 dataset. The main changes include:

• Added the GLS2005 dataset
• Updated references to EROS

January 24, 2008

Version 7.12 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for the Global Land Survey (GLS) 2000 dataset. The main changes include:

• Added the GLS2000 dataset
• Minor updates to the about browse and help pages

December 17, 2007

Version 7.11 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release implements changes to support a restructuring of the metadata in the Landsat archive. The main changes include:

• Use the Landsat Scene ID rather than the Entity ID as the key field
• Metadata field names and some formats have changed across the board for the following datasets:
  • Landsat 7 SLC-on (1999-2003)
  • Landsat 7 SLC-off (2003-present)
  • Landsat 4-5 TM
  • Landsat 4-5 MSS
  • Landsat 1-3 MSS
  • MRLC/MTBS Radiance
  • MRLC/MTBS Reflectance
  • SLC-off STD L1T

GloVis 7.11 code will not work with older Landsat data archives due to major changes in the metadata field names and formats.

October 11, 2007

Registration is now required to order and download many of the datasets. Details are available on the EarthExplorer site.

August 28, 2007

Version 7.10 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for National High Altitude Photography (NHAP) data, makes the MRLC 2001 Reflectance data downloadable, and makes other improvements. The main changes include:

• Added the NHAP B&W and CIR datasets.
• Added support for downloading the MRLC 2001 Reflectance data.
• Added a Search for Address feature under the Map Layers menu.
• Fixed distortion in some ASTER and Landsat scenes near the poles.
• Modified the resolution selected when switching datasets to be more predictable.
• When a shapefile is loaded, the display is moved to the center of the shapefile coverage if an area within the shapefile is not already being displayed.

June 4, 2007

Version 7.9 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for the Landsat ETM+ Standard Terrain Product, Tri-Decadal ETM+ Pan Mosaics, and Tri-Decadal TM Mosaics, and makes other improvements. The main changes include:

• Added the Landsat ETM+ Standard Terrain product. The data is made available as a separate dataset and is also included with the normal Landsat ETM+ SLC-off dataset. The scenes may be downloaded at no charge.
• Added the Tri-Decadal ETM+ Panchromatic Sharpened ETM+ Mosaics.
• Added the Tri-Decadal TM Mosaics.
• Renamed the applet "Sensor" menu to "Collections" and reorganized the menus.

April 26, 2007

Version 7.8 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for NALC data and makes other improvements. The main changes include:

• Added support for the NALC data. The data may be downloaded at no charge.
• Added a workaround for a Java bug that caused the GloVis applet to be hidden under the web browser when the applet is first loaded on some operating systems.
• Added a check to verify popup windows are not being blocked by the browser for the GloVis web site. If popups are blocked, a warning is provided to the user since functionality is limited with popups blocked. This test does cause a small browser window to be momentarily opened, but that can be ignored.

February 5, 2007

Version 7.7 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for TerraLook and makes other improvements. The main changes include:

• Added support for TerraLook.
• Fixed the search for scene feature for the Landsat Combined dataset.
• Updated the product information link for the MRLC 2001 TC dataset.

December 20, 2006

Version 7.6 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release adds support for downloading MRLC 2001 TC data and makes other improvements. The main changes include:

• Made the MRLC 2001 TC data downloadable.
• Added the download button to the scene list in the main window for the datasets that can be downloaded.
• Added version 5 of the MODIS data and included the MOD11B1 day/night data in the inventory.
• Enabled the scene list overlay map layer by default.
• Changed the default color for the protected areas map layers to yellow.
• Split the political boundaries map layer into a countries layer and an administration layer which contains borders for both the countries and major internal administration areas (like states).
• Added the full dataset name as a tooltip on under the sensor menu.

September 27, 2006

Version 7.5 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is release adds National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) data support and adds other features. The main changes include:

• Added the NAPP dataset.
• Changed the default dataset to display to Landsat TM.
• Added a scene list overlay map layer to show the outline of the scenes in the scene list in the image display area.
• Added the ability to change the map layer colors.
• Updated the protected areas map layers with the 2006 version of the data.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the wrong ASTER granule to be displayed when it was double-clicked in the scene list.
• Added an option to the file menu to allow downloading the browse and metadata for the scenes in the scene list.
• Minor updates to the FAQ, about browse, and help pages.

June 28, 2006

Version 7.4 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is primarily a maintenance release. The main changes include:

• Java 1.4+ is now required to run GloVis. The obsolete Java 1.1 version of the applet is no longer available.
• Added support for printing the main applet window and the NDVI graph.
• Added support for a change to the MRLC scene IDs.
• Added a feature to optionally set all the scenes to same date automatically.
• Added support for modified Orthorectified ETM+ and pansharpened browse. This increased the number of scenes GloVis has available.
• Added NDVI data for 2005.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented the NDVI graph data from being displayed.
• Added some FAQ questions.

May 24, 2006

Version 7.3 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The primary reason for this release is to change the ASTER inventory to use L1A data instead of L1B data to maintain compatibility with the DAAC ASTER inventory.

April 4, 2006

Version 7.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is primarily a maintenance release. The main changes include:

• Added support for reading shapefiles into the applet as a map layer. The attributes associated with the shapes can also be displayed.
• Added the ability to display NDVI curves over the United States.
• Added support for the Orthorectified MSS dataset.
• Added optional tool tips to the applet.
• Added an option to filter ASTER data by WRS-2 path and row.
• Fixed a bug that would sometimes prevent drawing the map layers properly.
• Fixed a bug that would cause unexpected behavior when running more than one instance of the applet.
• Removed the limit of a single Orthorectified dataset per session.

December 21, 2005

Version 7.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is primarily a maintenance release. The main changes include:

• Added support for downloading a single Orthorectified dataset per session at no charge.
• Orthorectified dataset orders now use the EarthExplorer shopping basket.
• Added a railroads map layer.
• Fixed some issues on the Apple Mac when using the Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers. Note that IE and Netscape on a Mac do not support recent versions of Java properly due to an Apple bug. For the best experience on a Mac, use the Safari browser.
• Fixed a User Defined Area bug.

September 28, 2005

Version 7.0 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The primary goal of this release is to upgrade the Java applet to a more recent version of Java and to upgrade the GUI. The main changes include:

• Converted the Java applet to use Java 2 and the Java Swing GUI toolkit. This allows the GUI to be improved slightly for this release and will allow greater improvements in the future. The Java 1.4 plug-in or newer is now required. For a limited time, the web site will fall back to the old Java applet to allow users time to upgrade to a newer Java plug-in.
• Added the ability to set a Point of Interest on the display.
• Added a link to the source code distribution web site for users to request forgotten login information.
• Added search limit statistics to the search limits dialog.
• Added a "Default Scene" option to the image display area right-click menu to return the selected scene to the original one displayed.
• Added scene quality as a factor in determining default scenes to display.
• Swapped the southwest and southeast corners in the EO-1 metadata display so they display correctly.
• Added a link to the GloVis 'Forum' on the home page. [Removed in 7.8]
• Added a warning when the user is ordering low quality or high cloud cover Landsat scenes.
• For Landsat ETM scenes, the lowest of the two quality values are shown to the user in the applet.
• Modified the search for scene dialog box to start the search when the enter key is pressed.
• Updated the MODIS data in the inventory to be current.

June 29, 2005

Version 6.3 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is primarily a maintenance release. The main changes include:

• Added a "Swath Mode" that allows navigating Landsat and ASTER data by swath. This mode is enabled on the Tools menu.
• Added a web forum to allow users to interact and post questions. This is available from the GloVis applet help menu. [Removed in 7.8]
• Modified the projection used in the southern Pacific Ocean to prevent the scenes there from being distorted.
• Modified the color of the icon used to indicate the current location in the locator map to be more visible.
• Modified the color used to highlight the selected scene to be more visible for some of the sensors.
• Added a popup message to the applet to warn users when they are using an older version of Java. The September release of GloVis will require modern Java support.

March 30, 2005

Version 6.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is primarily a maintenance release. The main changes include:

• Added a dataset that combines the inventories of the Landsat ETM+, Landsat ETM+ SLC-off, Landsat TM, and Landsat 4-5 MSS sensors into a single dataset referred to as the "Landsat 4-7 Combined" dataset.
• Added FGDC Metadata support to the datasets that did not already have support for FGDC Metadata.
• The Java applet is now signed to allow it to have extra privileges that are normally denied to Java applets. When the applet loads, the user will be presented with a security warning dialog. If the user answers "Yes" to this dialog, the applet will be granted the privilege to access the hard drive on the user's computer. This privilege is used for the following features:
  • To allow the ordering and hidden scene lists to be saved to the user's hard drive and loaded from the user's hard drive.
  • To allow downloading metadata and browse files to the user's hard drive.
  If the user answers "No" to the security warning dialog, these features will not be available.
  Note: The features that require extra privileges only work with browsers using the Java plug-in from Sun (or the equivalent if it is included with the browser). The features will NOT work with the Microsoft Java implementation in Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer users will need to install the Sun Java plug-in to use the features. For help, refer to How do I install Java?.
• Modified the workaround for the limited URL length in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Instead of limiting the number of scenes that can be added to the scene list, any number of scenes can now be added. However, if the number of scenes in the scene list create a URL that is too long, only part of the scenes will be ordered. The order button will need to be pressed multiple times to add all the scenes to the shopping basket.
• Other various improvements and bug fixes.

January 4, 2005

Version 6.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This is primarily a maintenance release. The main changes include:

• Changed the US Cities map layer to be a World Cities layer.
• Added support for many more MODIS Terra and Aqua datasets - both daily datasets and composite datasets.
• Added a link to the FGDC metadata from the Show Metadata screen for the following datasets: EO-1 (ALI and Hyperion), Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off, Landsat 4-5 TM, Landsat 4-5 MSS, and Landsat 1-3 MSS.
• The Landsat inventories are now updated several times an hour. To refresh the applet periodically, use the "Refresh" option on the Tools menu.
• Added a feature to allow adding all scenes in a user defined area to the shopping basket.
• All support for Netscape browsers prior to Netscape 6.0 has been dropped. Multiple functions of the applet may not work properly with these out-dated versions of the Netscape browser. If you are still using a Netscape 4.x browser, please upgrade to a newer version.
• Firefox 1.0 has been added as an officialy supported browser.
• Other various improvements and bug fixes.

September 20, 2004

Version 6.0 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The main focus of this release is to add support for additional MODIS Terra and Aqua datasets, and to add support for the EO-1 ALI and Hyperion datasets. The main changes include:

• Added support for many MODIS Terra and Aqua datasets. Both daily datasets and composite datasets (note that the final datasets will be populated after the release).
• Added support for the EO-1 ALI and Hyperion datasets.
• Added the ability to hide selected scenes. Once they are hidden, they will not be displayed to the user again.
• Added the ability to create a user defined area for the ASTER and EO-1 datasets. The user defined area can apply to the prev/next scene buttons, or be used as a search limit.
• Added the ability to optionally remove the grid from the Landsat 7 SLC-off "Show Browse" web page.

July 12, 2004

Version 5.0 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The main focus of this release is to add support for the MODIS Terra and Aqua Surface Reflectance 8-day L3 Global 500 SIN Grid data datasets (MOD09A1 and MYD09A1). The main changes include:

• Added support the MOD09A1 and MYD09A1 datasets.
• The highest resolution displayed for the Landsat TM and MSS datasets has been changed from 480-meters to 240-meters. In most cases, this is done by oversampling the original browse images, but over time the source browse will be produced at 240-meter resolution.
• Some of the metadata fields displayed for the Landsat TM and MSS datasets have changed.
• Added a map layer for Protected Areas.
• For Microsoft Internet Explorer, added a limit to the number of scenes that can be added to the scene list. This is to work around a URL size limitation that was causing scenes to be lost when passing them to the shopping basket.
• Added a warning for Netscape 4.0 users that some shopping baskets no longer support Netscape 4.0.
• Added the ability to filter Landsat scenes using the scene quality.
• Added the ability to only display the scenes in the scene list.
• Added a restore button to the scene list to recover the scenes that were in the scene list before the order button was pressed.
• Added the ability to add all visible scenes to the scene list (except for ASTER data).
• Other various improvements and bug fixes.

March 31, 2004

Version 4.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The main focus of this release was making improvements to the Java applet functionality. The changes include:

• Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off can now be ordered using GloVis.
• The applet is now displayed in its own window instead of being embedded in the browser window.
• The applet window can be resized to make the area available for displaying browse images larger. If your display is large enough, an entire Landsat ETM+ browse image can be viewed at the 240 meter resolution.
• The applet window has a menu at the top for several options that were previously available on the left side of the applet or in a navigation bar in the browser. These options includes:
  • The sensor/dataset selection
  • The resolution selection
  • The map layer selection
  • The search limits (under the Tools menu)
  • The scene list dialog (under the Tools menu)
  • The viewer help page (under the Help menu)
  • The about browse images page (under the Help menu)
  • The product information page for the currently selected dataset (under the Help menu)
  • The data acquisition schedule for the currently selected dataset (under the Help menu)
  • The home page link (under the Help menu)
• The applet window has a status bar shown at the bottom. It displays:
  • The currently selected sensor or dataset
  • The resolution being displayed
  • Any date limits that are currently in place
  • The latitude and longitude when the cursor is over the image display area
  • The latitude, longitude, WRS path, and WRS row when the cursor is over the locator map
• A link to the quick start page was added to the Help menu.
• A "North Arrow" map layer was added to indicate which direction is north since the Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection used in the viewer distorts direction.
• The capability to search for a scene by a known scene ID (or granule ID for ASTER data) was added. This is available from the "Search for Scene..." option under the Tools menu.
• The "More..." button under the scene list on the left side of the applet was replaced with an "Order" button since the scene list is now available from the Tools menu.
• For Landsat datasets, a new option was added to the right-click menu in the image display area to allow setting all the displayed scenes as close as possible to the date of the scene that is clicked on (subject to the current search limits).

January 29, 2004

Version 4.0 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The main focus of this release was adding a large number of data sets. The full list of changes includes:

• The following data sets have been added:
  • Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off (Search only)
  • Landsat 4-5 MSS
  • Landsat 1-3 MSS
  • MRLC 2001 Terrain Corrected
  • MRLC 2001 At-Sensor Reflectance
  • MRLC 1992
  • Landsat Orthorectified ETM+
  • Landsat Orthorectified ETM+ Pansharpened
  • Landsat Orthorectified TM
• The enter key will now act like the "Go" button for the path/row and lat/long entry in the Java applet.
• Some minor bugs in the Java applet have been fixed.

October 29, 2003

Version 3.3 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The main improvements in this release are adding the ASTER TIR browse as a data set, and enabling ordering of ASTER granules using a shopping basket. The full list of changes includes:

• The ASTER Level-1B TIR browse are now available for night collections.
• When ordering ASTER granules, the ASTER scene list is now sent to the newly available EDG shopping basket to make ordering granules easier. This replaces the ordering instructions that were provided in earlier releases.
• A bug that was including too much fill in ASTER browse images has been fixed. This bug typically impacted granules over water.
• Several other minor bug fixes have been incorporated.
• The source code available for download has been updated to the current version.

August 28, 2003

Version 3.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. The main improvements in this release are changing the ASTER VNIR browse from Level-2 Decorrelated stretch images to Level-1B images, and to expand the metadata available for Landsat scenes. The full list of changes includes:

• The ASTER VNIR browse images are now Level-1B images instead of Level-2 Decorrelated stretch images. Previously, Level-1B browse were not available.
• The ASTER inventory is updated daily.
• The full resolution ASTER browse images is now 90 meters. Previously, the full resolution was 140 meters.
• More Landsat TM and ETM metadata is made available to the user.
• The Java applet has been modified to use separate threads for downloading data over the internet. This means that while the applet is downloading data (inventory contents, browse images, and map layer data), the user can still interact with the applet. This should make it easier to use the applet on a slow connection.
• An animated indicator has been added to show when the Java applet is downloading data over the network.
• A date range can be set for the scenes a user wants to see. The range can include a range of years and/or months. It is strongly encouraged to use this while viewing ASTER data.
• A popup menu is available by right-clicking on a scene in the image display area (or holding down the option key and clicking on an Apple Mac).
• The scene list functionality has been improved by allowing a separate scene list dialog box to be displayed. The dialog box shows more information on each scene in the list and makes more functionality available than the scene list in the main applet display. A popup menu is available for the scene list in both the main applet and the scene list dialog box.
• Double-clicking on a scene in the scene list will display the scene in the image display area. This feature is also available from a button in the scene list dialog box and from an option in the popup menu.
• The scene information area has been changed to a Java component that allows its contents to be copied to the clipboard.
• Various other improvements and bug fixes have been incorporated.
• The source code available for download has been updated to the current version.

May 1, 2003

Version 3.1 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis) has been released. This release is a maintenance release to make some minor improvements to the existing functionality. The changes include:

• The ASTER inventory is current through the beginning of April, 2003. In April, the ASTER processing flow changed to produce Level-1B browse instead of Level-2 Decorrelated Stretch browse. GloVis will be updated to utilize the Level-1B browse in the near future.
• Several causes of synchronization problems between GloVis and EarthExplorer have been identified and fixed. GloVis should be able to maintain much better synchronization now. The existing GloVis Landsat inventories are undergoing a process to fix the disagreeing scenes and should be in complete agreement with EarthExplorer in a few weeks.
• Navigation has been improved in the viewer.
  • Entry boxes have been added for entering a latitude and longitude to display.
  • The mouse may now be used to drag the image viewing area to a new location or to adjust the scrollbar positions. Simply press and hold the left mouse button and move the mouse to reposition the display. Note that this is very useful when viewing Landsat 7 ETM+ data at the 240m resolution.
  • When displaying the ASTER 400m resolution, the arrow buttons now step by 1/3 of the displayed area.
  • When no scenes are available in the area being viewed, any map layers available in the area are still displayed and the lat/long is still available.
• The Map Layer display has been improved significantly. The layers are much more visible and can be distinguished easily.
• A map layer was added for US Cities.
• Political boundaries are now shown at all times in the locator map.
• The maximum cloud cover selection has been changed from a slider bar to a dropdown list.
• The viewer design has been improved to allow easier customization.
• The source code available for download has been updated to the current version.

December 5, 2002

Version 3.0 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer has been released. This release adds support for ASTER Level-2 Decorrelated Stretch VNIR scenes using Level-1B metadata. The inventory of ASTER scenes is current through the end of May 2002. Infrastructure is being put into place to keep the inventory up-to-date on a daily basis, but it is not ready yet. Directly ordering ASTER scenes is not yet supported. However, instructions are provided for ordering data via the EDG. Other changes include:

• Modified the home page to allow the world image to fit in a browser window that is 800 pixels wide.
• Added a latitude and longitude display on the main page.
• Changed the right mouse button action to place the clicked-on scene behind the other visible scenes. Alternately, holding down the Alt, Shift, or Ctrl key and pressing the left mouse button will perform the same action.
• Made the source code used to build the web site available for download for organizations wishing to create similar web sites. Note: The source code is provided "As-Is" with no support.

August 23, 2002

Version 2.2 of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer has been released. This release is a maintenance release to make some minor improvements to the existing functionality. The changes include:

• Allow users to login to EarthExplorer when placing orders by using a new feature of EarthExplorer. This will allow users to use existing EarthExplorer accounts and order restricted products if they are approved for them.
• Added a Quick Start Tutorial.
• Reduced the network bandwidth used in many cases. This should make response times better for users on slower connections under many conditions.
• Compressed the map layer files to decrease download times.
• Identified and worked around an issue with Netscape Java support that could result in the browser eventually running out of memory with extended use.

April 29, 2002

The current version of the USGS Global Visualization Viewer has incorporated a number of improvements to the site's navigation and displays, data and metadata access, and overall usability. Specific changes for Release 2.1 include:

General

• Changed the background image for the locator map
• Improved the overall "look and feel" of the web pages
• Improved and reorganized the Help and About Browse documentation

Navigation and Displays

• Added the capability to search a different sensor from the viewer applet
• Added a border to highlight the currently selected scene
• Added a "custom mosaic" capability that retains recently selected scene(s) when navigating
• Improved date navigation by allowing a user-selected month and year
• Added a mechanism for cloud cover restriction
• Added the capability for user-selected map layers
• Provided additional map layer options (e.g. roads, water)
• Reorganized the viewer controls to be easier to use

Data and Metadata Access

• Added an ordering mechanism, which allows scene purchase via the USGS EarthExplorer Shopping Basket
• Added the capability to review the browse image for any scene within the scene list
• Added metadata access for any scene within the scene list

Browser and Interface Behavior

• Improved the drawing algorithm to reduce flickering
• Improved the keyboard interface
• Implemented several changes to allow the applet to work more reliably on Macintosh platforms