Google Earth Engine Standard Vegetation Index
The aim of this step-by-step guide, offered on the UN-SPIDER knowledge portal, is to create a standard vegetation index (SVI) timeline based on the MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) product. The SVI is used as it highlights the difference to the mean vegetation status during a given time and therefore provides information about drought-like conditions.
Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a web-platform for cloud-based processing of remote sensing data on a large scale. The advantage lies in its remarkable computation speed as processing is outsourced to Google servers. The platform provides a variety of constantly updated datasets; no download of raw imagery is required. While it is free of charge, one still needs to activate access to Google Earth Engine with a valid Google account. A confirmation is usually received within 2 to 3 working days.