The dataset of ground truth measurements synchronizing with Landsat TM was obtained in the Linze grassland and Linze station foci experimental area on Sep. 23, 2007 during the pre-observation periods, and one scene was captured well. These data can provide reliable ground data for retrieval and validation of land surface temperatures with EO-1 Hyperion remote sensing approaches. Observation items included: (1) the land surface radiative temperature by the hand-held infrared thermometer, which was calibrated; (2) GPS by GARMIN GPS 76; (3) atmospheric parameters at Daman Water Management office measured by CE318 (produced by CIMEL in France). The total optical depth, aerosol optical depth, Rayleigh scattering coefficient, column water vapor in 936 nm, particle size spectrum and phase function were then retrieved from these observations. The optical depth in 1020nm, 936nm, 870nm, 670nm and 440nm were all acquired by CE318. These data include the raw data in .k7 format and can be opened by ASTPWin software. ReadMe.txt is attached for detail. Processed data (after retrieval of the raw data) in Excel contain optical depth, rayleigh scattering, aerosol optical depth, the horizontal visibility, the near surface air temperature, the solar azimuth, zenith, solar distance correlation factors, and air column mass number. (4) ground-based land surface temperature measurements by the thermal imager in the Heihe gobi, west of Zhangye city.

The dataset of ground truth measurement synchronizing with the airborne WiDAS mission was obtained in the Yingke oasis and Huazhaizi desert steppe foci experimental areas on Jun. 1, 2008. WiDAS, composed of four CCD cameras, one mid-infrared thermal imager (AGEMA 550), and one infrared thermal imager (S60), can acquire CCD, MIR and TIR band data. The simultaneous ground data included: (1) The radiative temperature of maize, wheat and the bare land in Yingke oasis maize field and Huazhaizi desert No. 1 plot by ThermaCAM SC2000 (1.2m above the ground, FOV = 24°×18°). The data included raw data (read by ThermaCAM Researcher 2001), recorded data and the blackbody calibrated data (archived in Excel format). (2) The radiative temperature by the automatic thermometer (FOV: 10°; emissivity: 1.0; from Institute of Remote Sensing Applications), observing straight downwards at intervals of 1s in Yingke oasis maize field. Raw data, blackbody calibrated data and processed data were all archived in Excel format. (3) FPAR (Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation) of maize and wheat by SUNSACN and the digital camera in Yingke oasis maize field. FPAR= (canopyPAR－surface transmissionPAR－canopy reflection PAR+surface reflectionPAR) /canopy PAR; APAR=FPAR* canopy PAR. Data were archived in Excel format. (4) The reflectance spectra by ASD in Yingke oasis maize field (350-2500nm , from BNU, the vertical canopy observation and the transect observation), and Huazhaizi desert No. 1 plot (350-2500nm , from Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS, the NE-SW diagonal observation at intervals of 30m). The data included raw data (in .doc format), recorded data and the blackbody calibrated data (in Excel format). (5) Maize albedo by the shortwave radiometer in Yingke oasis maize field. R =10H (R for FOV radius; H for the probe height). Data were archived in Excel format. (6) The radiative temperature by the handheld radiometer in Yingke oasis maize field (from BNU, the vertical canopy observation, the transect observation and the diagonal observation), Yingke oasis wheat field (only for the transect temperature), and Huazhaizi desert No. 1 plot (the NE-SW diagonal observation). Besides, the maize radiative temperature and the physical temperature were also measured both by the handheld radiometer and the probe thermometer in the maize plot of 30m near the resort. The data included raw data (in .doc format), recorded data and the blackbody calibrated data (in Excel format). (7) Atmospheric parameters on the playroom roof at the resort by CE318 (produced by CIMEL in France). The underlying surface was mainly composed of crops and the forest (1526m high). The total optical depth, aerosol optical depth, Rayleigh scattering coefficient, column water vapor in 936 nm, particle size spectrum and phase function were then retrieved from these observations. The optical depth in 1020nm, 936nm, 870nm, 670nm and 440nm were all acquired by CE318. Those data include the raw data in .k7 format and can be opened by ASTPWin. ReadMe.txt is attached for detail. Processed data (after retrieval of the raw data) in Excel format are on optical depth, rayleigh scattering, aerosol optical depth, the horizontal visibility, the near surface air temperature, the solar azimuth, zenith, solar distance correlation factors, and air column mass number. (8) Narrow channel emissivity of the bare land and vegetation by the W-shaped determinator in Huazhaizi desert No. 1 plot. Four circumstances should be considered for emissivity, with the lid plus the au-plating board, the au-plating board only, the lid only and without both. Data were archived in Word.

On 3 August 2012, Wide-angle Infrared Dual-mode line/area Array Scanner (WIDAS) carried by the Harbin Y-12 aircraft was used in a visible near Infrared thermal Dual-mode airborne remote sensing experiment, which is located in the artificial oasis eco-hydrology experimental area (5×5 km). WIDAS includes a CCD camera with a spatial resolution of 0.08 m, a visible near Infrared multispectral camera with five bands scanner (an maximum observation angle 48° and spatial resolution 0.4 m), and a thermal image camera with a spatial resolution of 2 m. The CCD camera data are recorded in DN values processed by mosaic and orthorectification.

The No. 3 hydrological section is located at Railway Heihe River Bridge (100.430° E, 39.043° N, 1443 m) in the midstream of the Heihe River Basin, Zhangye city, Gansu Province. The dataset contains observations recorded by the No.3 hydrological section from 14 June, 2012, to 31 December, 2013. The width of this section is 50 meters. The water level was measured using an SR50 ultrasonic range and the discharge was measured using cross-section reconnaissance by the StreamPro ADCP. The dataset includes the following parameter: water level (recorded every 30 minutes) and discharge. The missing and incorrect (outside the normal range) data were replaced with -6999. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), He et al. (2016) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

The dataset of ground truth measurement synchronizing with the airborne WiDAS mission and Landsat TM was obtained in the Yingke oasis and Huazhaizi desert steppe foci experimental areas on Jul. 7, 2008. Observation items included: (1) the radiative temperature by the thermal camera (Institute of Remote Sensing Applications) of maize, wheat and the bare land of Yingke oasis maize field at a height of 1.2m above the ground. Optical photos of the scene were also taken. Raw data (read by ThermaCAM Researcher 2001) was archived in IMG format, and blackbody calibrated data and processed data were all archived as Excel files. (2) Maize albedo by the shortwave radiometer in Yingke oasis maize field. R =10H (R for FOV radius; H for the probe height). Data were archived in Excel format. (3) Reflectance spectra in Yingke oasis maize field by ASD FieldSpec (350-1603nm) from Institute of Remote Sensing Applications (CAS). The grey board and the black and white cloth were also used for calibration on the CCD camera. Raw data were binary files direct from ASD (by ViewSpecPro), and pre-processed data on reflectance were in Excel format. (4) the component temperature by the handheld radiometer in Yingke oasis maize field and Huazhaizi desert maize field. For maize, the component temperature included the vertical canopy temperature, the bare land temperature and the plastic film temperature; for the wheat, it included the vertical canopy temperature, the half height temperature, the lower part temperature and the bare land temperature. The data included raw data (in Word format), recorded data and the blackbody calibrated data (in Excel format). (5) the radiative temperature by the handheld radiometer (emissivity = 1.0) in Yingke oasis maize field (for the canopy mean temperature), Huazhaizi desert maize field (for the transect temperature), Zhangye airport (the black and white cloth for calibration) and Huazhaizi desert No. 2 plot (the diagonal radiative temperature and the radiative temperature of 30m*30m subplot). The component temperature was also measured. The data included raw data (in Word format), recorded data and the blackbody calibrated data (as Excel files). (6) The air temperature (°C) , the soy bean leaf temperature (°C) and the maize leaf temperature (°C) by SPAD (from Institute of Remote Sensing Applications (CAS)) in Yingke oasis maize field. Besides, spectrum, photosynthesis, fluorescence and chlorophyll were measured as well. (7) The leaf reflectance spectra ASD (serial number: 64831) and 50% grey board from Institute of Remote Sensing Applications (CAS). The spectral DN was changed into radiance based on the 50% grey board calibration data and calibration lamp data, which could further be transformed into Excel format. Moreover, the solar radiance=the reference board radiance/the reference reflectance. (8) The leaf fluorescence by ImagingPam from Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences. YII = (Fm'-F)/Fm' was applied for caculation, F indicating fluorescence before saturating flash light, Fm' the maximum fluorescence before saturating flash light, and YII the quantum yield of photosystem II. Data were archived in pim and could be read by ImagingPam, which can be downloaded from http://www.zealquest.com. (9) The leaf photosynthesis by LI-6400. (10) The radiative temperature by the automatic thermometer (FOV: 10°; emissivity: 0.95), observing straight downwards at intervals of 1s in Yingke oasis maize field and Huazhaizi desert maize field. Raw data, blackbody calibrated data and processed data were all archived in Excel format. (11) FPAR (Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation) by SUNSACN and the digital camera in Yingke oasis maize field. FPAR= (canopyPAR－surface transmissionPAR－canopy reflection PAR+surface reflectionPAR) /canopy PAR; APAR=FPAR* canopy PAR. Data were archived in the table format of Word. (12) Atmospheric parameters near Daman Water Management office by CE318 (produced by CIMEL in France). The total optical depth, aerosol optical depth, Rayleigh scattering coefficient, column water vapor in 936 nm, particle size spectrum and phase function were then retrieved from these observations. The optical depth in 1020nm, 936nm, 870nm, 670nm and 440nm were all acquired by CE318. Those data include the raw data in k7 format and can be opened by ASTPWin. ReadMe.txt is attached for detail. Processed data (after retrieval of the raw data) in Excel format are on optical depth, Rayleigh scattering, aerosol optical depth, the horizontal visibility, the near surface air temperature, the solar azimuth, zenith, solar distance correlation factors, and air column mass number.

This dataset contains the automatic weather station (AWS) measurements from site No.13 in the flux observation matrix from 6 May to 20 September, 2012. The site (100.37852° E, 38.86074° N) was located in a cropland (maize surface) in Daman irrigation district, which is near Zhangye, Gansu Province. The elevation is 1550.73 m. The installation heights and orientations of different sensors and measured quantities were as follows: air temperature and humidity (HMP45D; 5 m, towards north), air pressure (CS100; 2 m), rain gauge (TE525M; 10 m), wind speed and direction (034B; 10 m, towards north), a four-component radiometer (CNR4; 6 m, towards south), two infrared temperature sensors (IRTC3; 6 m, vertically downward), soil temperature profile (AV-10T; 0, -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, and -1.0 m), soil moisture profile (EC20-5; -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, and -1.0 m), and soil heat flux (HFT3; 3 duplicates with one below the vegetation and the other between plants, 0.06 m). The observations included the following: air temperature and humidity (Ta_5 m and RH_5 m) (℃ and %, respectively), air pressure (press, hpa), precipitation (rain, mm), wind speed (Ws_10 m, m/s), wind direction (WD_10 m, °), four-component radiation (DR, incoming shortwave radiation; UR, outgoing shortwave radiation; DLR_Cor, incoming longwave radiation; ULR_Cor, outgoing longwave radiation; Rn, net radiation; W/m^2), infrared temperature (IRT_1 and IR_2, ℃), soil heat flux (Gs_1, below the vegetation; Gs_2 and Gs_3, W/m^2), soil temperature profile (Ts_0 cm, Ts_2 cm, Ts_4 cm, Ts_10 cm, Ts_20 cm, Ts_40 cm, Ts_60 cm, and Ts_100 cm, ℃), and soil moisture profile (Ms_2 cm, Ms_4 cm, Ms_10 cm, Ms_20 cm, Ms_40 cm, Ms_60 cm, and Ms_100 cm, %). The data processing and quality control steps were as follows. (1) The AWS data were averaged over intervals of 10 min; therefore, there were 144 records per day. The missing data were filled with -6999. (2) Data in duplicate records were rejected. (3) Unphysical data were rejected. (4) In this dataset, the time of 0:10 corresponds to the average data for the period between 0:00 and 0:10; the data were stored in *.xlsx format. (5) Finally, the naming convention was AWS+ site no. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Liu et al. (2016) (for multi-scale observation experiment or sites information), Xu et al. (2013) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

The No. 2 hydrological section is located at 312 Heihe River Bridge (100.411° E, 38.998° N, 1485 m) in the midstream of the Heihe River Basin, Zhangye city, Gansu Province. The dataset contains observations recorded by the No.2 hydrological section from 19 June, 2012, to 31 December, 2013. This section consists of two river sections, i.e., the east section, which is denoted as No. 1 and the west section, which is denoted as No. 2. The width of this section is 90 meters and consists of a gravel bed; the cross-sectional area is unstable because of human factors. The water level was measured using an SR50 ultrasonic range and the discharge was measured using cross-section reconnaissance by the StreamPro ADCP. The dataset includes the following parameters: water level (recorded every 30 minutes) and discharge. The missing and incorrect (outside the normal range) data were replaced with -6999. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), He et al. (2016) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

The dataset of ground truth measurements synchronizing with EO-1 Hyperion was obtained in the Yingke oasis foci experimental area from Sep. 5 to Sep. 10, 2007 during the pre-observation period. It was carried out by the 3rd and 2nd sub-projects of CAS’s West Action Plan along Zhangye city-Yingke oasis-Huazhaizi, and on the very day of 10, one scene of Hyperion was captured. sampling plot time north latitude east longitude elevation notes 1 9:58 38°53′53.2″ 100°26′09.7″ 1500 cauliflower land east to the road 2 10:51 38°52′39.8″ 100°25′33.1″ 1510 cabbage land east to the road 3 11:35 38°52′39.0″ 100°25′34.6″ 1510 east to No. 2 sampling plot, maize and intercropping wheat reaped 4 12:24 38°51′53.0″ 100°25′08.0″ 1510 maize seed 5 13:08 38°51′54.2″ 100°25′09.5″ 1520 north to No. 4 sampling plot, maize and intercropping wheat reaped 6 14:40 38°51′23.5″ 100°24′45.0″ 1510 west to the road, maize seed, serious blights (red spider) 7 15:40 38°49′26.6″ 100°23′23.7″ 1540 intercrop land of sea buckthorn and beet 8 16:18 38°49′06.9″ 100°23′30.5″ 1540 tomato land, rich of amaranth weeds 9 16:18 38°49′06.4″ 100°23′30.8″ 1540 beet land 10 16:18 38°49′06.9″ 100°23′30.5″ 1540 tomato land with less weeds 11 10:30 38°48′28.3″ 100°24′11.4″ 1540 sea buckthorn seedling land west to the road 12 11:24 38°48′09.3″ 100°24′10.1″ 1550 sun flower land east to the road, intercropping wheat reaped 13 12:38 38°46′16.3″ 100°23′14.2″ 1600 dry rice land 14 12:45 38°46′16.2″ 100°23′14.0″ 1600 rape land 15 12:54 38°46′15.6″ 100°23′13.8″ 1600 buckwheat land 16 14:52 38°45′55.5″ 100°23′00.1″ 1610 maize (without intercrop) 17 15:28 38°45′57.5″ 100°22′28.3″ 1630 maize (without intercrop) 18 16:20 38°43′17.3″ 100°22′53.4″ 1730 gobi (Bassia dasyphylla and margarite dominate) 19 17:40 38°42′31.8″ 100°22′56.8″ 1780 gobi (Bassia dasyphylla and Sympegma regelii dominate) 20 10:27 38°36′25.1″ 100°20′33.2″ 2260 wheatgrass dominates 21 11:10 38°36′24.4″ 100°20′38.1″ 2260 abandoned composite land 22 11:30 2260 near site 22, wheatgrass and composite cenosis 23 bare land 24 13:09 38°38′46.3″ 100°23′08.5″ 2030 alfalfa land 25 14:39 38°44′30.8″ 100°22′41.0″ 1660 poplar 26 9:47 38°58′11.4″ 100°26′18.3″ 1460 rice land Observation items included: (1) quadrat surveys (2) LAI by LAI-2000 (3) ground object reflectance spectra by ASD FieldSpec Pro (350-2500nm)from Gansu Meteorological Administration (4) the land surface temperature and the canopy radiative temperature by the hand-held thermal infrared sensor (5) the photosynthesis rate by LI-6400 (6) the radiative temperature by ThermaCAM SC2000 (7) Atmospheric parameters by CE318 to retrieve the total optical depth, aerosol optical depth, Rayleigh scattering coefficient, column water vapor in 936 nm, and various parameters at 550nm to obtain horizontal visibility with the help of MODTRAN or 6S codes (8) chlorophyll consistency by portable SPAD Those provide reliable ground data for developing and validating retrieval meathods of biophysical parameters from EO-1 Hyperion images.

BJ-1 dataset includes 11 scenes, covering the upper and middle reaches of the Heihe river basin, which were acquired on 10-21-2007, 11-19-2007, 01-09-2008, 03-03-2008, 04-04-2008, 04-16-2008, 05-01-2008, 05-16-2008, 07-01-2008, 07-06-2008 and 07-08-2008. The sensor was MSI, substar resolution was 32m, fov was 22.06°, the orbit was 686km high and the dip angle was 98.1725°, the focal distance was 150mm, CCD pixel was 7μm, the near infrared band was 760nm-900nm, red wave band was 630nm-690nm and green wave band was 520nm-620nm. The data version is Level 2, which was released after geometric correction. BJ-1 dataset was acquired from "Dragon Programme" (grant number: 5322).

The dataset of LST (Land Surface Temperature) observations was obtained by three handheld infrared thermometers (5# and 6# from Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, and also one from Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources, which were all calibrated) in the Linze station foci experimental area. The temperature was measured 14-30 times in 40 subplots of the west-east desert strip on May 24, 25 and 28, 2008, 12-30 times in 9 subplots of north-south strip on May 24, 25 and 28, 17 times from P1 to P6 strips on Jul. 4 and 8, three times of 147 points along LY06 strip on Jun. 6, 15, 29 and Jul. 11, LY07 strip on May 30, Jun. 6, 15, 29 and Jul. 11 and LY08 strip on May 30, Jun. 6 and 10, and three times in Wulidun farmland quadrates on May 25, Jun. 29 and Jul. 11. Calibration was carried out in the desert on May 25, and in Pingchuan reservoir on May 30. Data were archived as Excel files. See the metadata record “WATER: Dataset of setting of the sampling plots and stripes in the Linze station foci experimental area” for more information of the quadrate locations.

The No. 7 hydrological section is located at Pingchuan Heihe River Bridge (100.097° E, 39.334° N, 1375 m) in the midstream of the Heihe River Basin, Zhangye city, Gansu Province. The dataset contains observations recorded by the No.7 hydrological section from 17 June, 2012, to 31 December, 2013. The width of this section is 130 meters. The water level was measured using an SR50 ultrasonic range and the discharge was measured using cross-section reconnaissance by the StreamPro ADCP. The dataset includes the following parameters: water level (recorded every 30 minutes) and discharge. The missing and incorrect (outside the normal range) data were replaced with -6999. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), He et al. (2016) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

This dataset contains the flux measurements from the Bajitan Gobi station eddy covariance system (EC) in the flux observation matrix from 31 May to 15 September, 2012. The site (100.30420° E, 38.91496° N) was located in Gobi surface, which is near Zhangye, Gansu Province. The elevation is 1562.00 m. The EC was installed at a height of 4.6 m; the sampling rate was 10 Hz. The sonic anemometer faced north, and the separation distance between the sonic anemometer and the CO2/H2O gas analyzer (CSAT3&Li7500) was 0.15 m. Raw data acquired at 10 Hz were processed using the Edire post-processing software (University of Edinburgh, http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/abs/research/micromet/EdiRe/), including spike detection, lag correction of H2O/CO2 relative to the vertical wind component, sonic virtual temperature correction, coordinate rotation (2-D rotation), corrections for density fluctuation (Webb-Pearman-Leuning correction), and frequency response correction. The EC data were subsequently averaged over 30 min periods. Moreover, the observation data quality was divided into three classes according to the quality assessment method of stationarity (Δst) and the integral turbulent characteristics test (ITC), which was proposed by Foken and Wichura [1996]: class 1 (level 0: Δst<30 and ITC<30), class 2 (level 1: Δst<100 and ITC<100), and class 3 (level 2: Δst>100 and ITC>100), representing high-, medium-, and low-quality data, respectively. In addition to the above processing steps, the half-hourly flux data were screened in a four-step procedure: (1) data from periods of sensor malfunction were rejected; (2) data before or after 1 h of precipitation were rejected; (3) incomplete 30 min data were rejected when the missing data constituted more than 3% of the 30 min raw record; and (4) data were rejected at night when the friction velocity (u*) was less than 0.1 m/s. There were 48 records per day; the missing data were replaced with -6999. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. The released data contained the following variables: data/time, wind direction (Wdir, °), wind speed (Wnd, m/s), the standard deviation of the lateral wind (Std_Uy, m/s), virtual temperature (Tv, ℃), H2O mass density (H2O, g/m^3), CO2 mass density (CO2, mg/m^3), friction velocity (ustar, m/s), stability (z/L), sensible heat flux (Hs, W/m^2), latent heat flux (LE, W/m^2), carbon dioxide flux (Fc, mg/ (m^2s)), quality assessment of the sensible heat flux (QA_Hs), quality assessment of the latent heat flux (QA_LE), and quality assessment of the carbon flux (QA_Fc). In this dataset, the time of 0:30 corresponds to the average data for the period between 0:00 and 0:30; the data were stored in *.xlsx format. For more information, please refer to Liu et al. (2016) (for multi-scale observation experiment or sites information), Xu et al. (2013) (for data processing) in the Citation section.