This data set contains a time series of wind surge values (skew surge) for the Cuxhaven tide gauge for the years 1959 to 2022. The skew surge is the difference between the high water heights or low water heights from observations and tide calculations, respectively. The maximum and minimum heights are used for both the observations and the tides - regardless of the time of occurrence in the respective tide. The observations used were verified water level data from the Waterways and Shipping Office Elbe-Nordsee (Cuxhaven), as archived yearly at the tidal information service of the Federal Maritime and Hygrographic Agency (BSH). This data is available from the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration. A consistent tidal calculation was carried out for the period under consideration, which is based on the current calculation scheme for official tidal predictions. The calculation method is the “Harmonic representation of inequalities”, as described in Boesch & Müller-Navarra (2019) (https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1363-2019). The predictions for one year are based on a tidal analysis of the 19 years of water level observations ending three years before the year of the prediction. The prediction for 1959, for example, is based on the results of the tidal analysis of the observations from 1938 to 1956. These tide calculations differ from the historical predictions as published in the tide tables. Therefore, this data set cannot be used to reproduce official statistics on historical surge values. In the period under consideration from 1959 to 2022, there were 45169 high water and 45168 low water, based on the assumption of semi-diurnal tides. No skew surge could be calculated for 7 high water and 11 low water, as either observational data was missing or the observational data could not be clearly assigned to the tidal data. This data set was originally generated for the development of a wind-based storm surge model for the German Bight, which is described in Schaffer et al. (2025) (submitted).

The TanDEM-X Forest/Non-Forest Map is a project developed by the Microwaves and Radar Institute at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), within the activities of the TanDEM-X mission. The goal is the derivation of a global forest/non-forest classification mosaic from TanDEM-X bistatic interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data, acquired for the generation of the global digital elevation model (DEM) in Stripmap single polarization (HH) mode. The TanDEM-X Forest/Non-Forest Map (FNF) has been generated by processing and mosaicking more than 500,000 TanDEM-X bistatic images acquired from 2011 until 2015. The map has a spatial resolution of 50 x 50m. Forested and non-forested areas are depicted in green and white, respectively. Water bodies are depicted in blue and black is used for identifying urban areas and invalid pixels. For more information, please visit: https://www.dlr.de/hr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-12538/21873_read-50027/

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on Board ESA’s ENVISAT provides spectral high resolution image data in the visible-near infrared spectral region (412-900 nm) at a spatial resolution of 300 m. For more details on ENVISAT and MERIS see http://envisat.esa.int/ This product developed in the frame of the MAPP project (MERIS Application and Regional Products Projects) represents the chlorophyll concentration of Lake Constance derived from MERIS data. The product is a cooperative effort of DLR-DFD and the Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht. DFD pre-processed up to the value added level whenever MERIS data for the North Sea region was received and positively checked for a water area large enough for a suitable interpretation. For more details the reader is referred to http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/ and http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/documents/Mapp_ATBD_final_i3r0dez2001.pdf This product provides 10-days maps.

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on Board ESA’s ENVISAT provides spectral high resolution image data in the visible-near infrared spectral region (412-900 nm) at a spatial resolution of 300 m. For more details on ENVISAT and MERIS see http://envisat.esa.int/ This product developed in the frame of the MAPP project (MERIS Application and Regional Products Projects) represents the chlorophyll concentration of the North Sea derived from MERIS data. The product is a cooperative effort of DLR-DFD and the Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht. DFD pre-processed up to the value added level whenever MERIS data for the North Sea region was received and positively checked for a water area large enough for a suitable interpretation. For more details the reader is referred to http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/ and http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/documents/Mapp_ATBD_final_i3r0dez2001.pdf This product provides daily maps.

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on Board ESA’s ENVISAT provides spectral high resolution image data in the visible-near infrared spectral region (412-900 nm) at a spatial resolution of 300 m. For more details on ENVISAT and MERIS see http://envisat.esa.int/ Spectral high resolution measurements allow to assess different water constituents in optically complex case-2 waters (IOCCG, 2000). The main groups of constituents are Chlorophyll, corresponding to living phytoplankton, suspended minerals or sediments and dissolved organic matter. They are characterised by their specific inherent optical properties, in particular scattering and absorption spectra. The Baltic Sea Water Constituents product was developed in a co-operative effort of DLR (Remote Sensing Technology Institute IMF, German Remote Sensing Data Centre DFD), Brockmann Consult (BC) and Baltic Sea Research Institute (IOW) in the frame of the MAPP project (MERIS Application and Regional Products Projects). The data are processed on a regular (daily) basis using ESA standard Level-1 and -2 data as input and producing regional specific value added Level-3 products. The regular data reception is realised at DFD ground station in Neustrelitz. For more details the reader is referred to http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/ and http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/documents/Mapp_ATBD_final_i3r0dez2001.pdf This product provides monthly maps.

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on Board ESA’s ENVISAT provides spectral high resolution image data in the visible-near infrared spectral region (412-900 nm) at a spatial resolution of 300 m. For more details on ENVISAT and MERIS see http://envisat.esa.int/ This product developed in the frame of the MAPP project (MERIS Application and Regional Products Projects) represents the chlorophyll concentration of Lake Constance derived from MERIS data. The product is a cooperative effort of DLR-DFD and the Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht. DFD pre-processed up to the value added level whenever MERIS data for the North Sea region was received and positively checked for a water area large enough for a suitable interpretation. For more details the reader is referred to http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/ and http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/documents/Mapp_ATBD_final_i3r0dez2001.pdf This product provides monthly maps.

The objective of the pan-European project CORINE Land Cover (CLC) is the provision of a unique and comparable data set of land cover for Europe and the delivery of regular updates to register also the land cover and land use changes over time. It is part of the European Union programme CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment). The mapping of the land cover and land use was performed on the basis of satellite remote sensing images. The first CLC data base CLC1990, which was finalized in the 1990s, consistently provided land use information comprising 44 classes, out of which 37 classes are relevant in Germany. The first two updates for Europe were based on the reference years 2000 and 2006. For Germany, DLR-DFD was responsible for the creation of CLC2000 and CLC2006 on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency. In addition to the updated land cover, change datasets were also parts of the project. For deriving a meaningful CLC2000 change product, it became necessary to re-interprete parts of the satellite data of 1990 and to create a revised product, called CLC1990 (rev). Further details: https://www.dlr.de/en/eoc/research-transfer/projects-missions/corine-land-cover

The objective of the pan-European project CORINE Land Cover (CLC) is the provision of a unique and comparable data set of land cover for Europe and the delivery of regular updates to register also the land cover and land use changes over time. It is part of the European Union programme CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment). The mapping of the land cover and land use was performed on the basis of satellite remote sensing images. The first CLC data base CLC1990, which was finalized in the 1990s, consistently provided land use information comprising 44 classes, out of which 37 classes are relevant in Germany. The first two updates for Europe were based on the reference years 2000 and 2006. For Germany, DLR-DFD was responsible for the creation of CLC2000 and CLC2006 on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency. In addition to the updated land cover, change datasets were also parts of the project. For deriving a meaningful CLC2000 change product, it became necessary to re-interprete parts of the satellite data of 1990 and to create a revised product, called CLC1990 (rev). Further details: https://www.dlr.de/en/eoc/research-transfer/projects-missions/corine-land-cover

The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on Board ESA’s ENVISAT provides spectral high resolution image data in the visible-near infrared spectral region (412-900 nm) at a spatial resolution of 300 m. For more details on ENVISAT and MERIS see http://envisat.esa.int/ This product developed in the frame of the MAPP project (MERIS Application and Regional Products Projects) represents the chlorophyll concentration of Lake Constance derived from MERIS data. The product is a cooperative effort of DLR-DFD and the Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht. DFD pre-processed up to the value added level whenever MERIS data for the North Sea region was received and positively checked for a water area large enough for a suitable interpretation. For more details the reader is referred to http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/ and http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/documents/Mapp_ATBD_final_i3r0dez2001.pdf This product provides daily maps.

The "AVHRR compatible Normalized Difference Vegetation Index derived from MERIS data (MERIS_AVHRR_NDVI)" was developed in a co-operative effort of DLR (German Remote Sensing Data Centre, DFD) and Brockmann Consult GmbH (BC) in the frame of the MAPP project (MERIS Application and Regional Products Projects). For the generation of regional specific value added MERIS level-3 products, MERIS full-resolution (FR) data are processed on a regular (daily) basis using ESA standard level-1b and level-2 data as input. The regular reception of MERIS-FR data is realized at DFD ground station in Neustrelitz. The Medium Resolution Imaging MERIS on Board ESA's ENVISAT provides spectral high resolution image data in the visible-near infrared spectral region (412-900 nm) at a spatial resolution of 300 m. For more details on ENVISAT and MERIS see http://envisat.esa.int The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) compatible vegetation index (MERIS_AVHRR_NDVI) derived from data of the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) is regarded as a continuity index with 300 meter resolution for the well-known Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from AVHRR (given in 1km spatial resolution). The NDVI is an important factor describing the biological status of canopies. This product is thus used by scientists for deriving plant and canopy parameters. Consultants use time series of the NDVI for advising farmers with best practice. For more details the reader is referred to http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/ and http://wdc.dlr.de/sensors/meris/documents/Mapp_ATBD_final_i3r0dez2001.pdf This product provides daily maps.