• Energy Research

Humanity’s role in changing the face of the earth is a long-standing concern, as is the human domination of ecosystems. Geologists are debating the introduction of a new geological epoch, the ‘anthropocene’, as humans are ‘overwhelming the great forces of nature’. In this context, the accumulation of artefacts, i.e., human-made physical objects, is a pervasive phenomenon. Variously dubbed ‘manufactured capital’, ‘technomass’, ‘human-made mass’, ‘in-use stocks’ or ‘socioeconomic material stocks’, they have become a major focus of sustainability sciences in the last decade. Globally, the mass of socioeconomic material stocks now exceeds 10e14 kg, which is roughly equal to the dry-matter equivalent of all biomass on earth. It is doubling roughly every 20 years, almost perfectly in line with ‘real’ (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP. In terms of mass, buildings and infrastructures (here collectively called ‘built structures’) represent the overwhelming majority of all socioeconomic material stocks. This dataset features a detailed map of material stocks in the CONUS on a 10m grid based on high resolution Earth Observation data (Sentinel-1 + Sentinel-2), crowd-sourced geodata (OSM) and material intensity factors. Spatial extent This subdataset covers the Rocky Mountains CONUS, i.e. CO ID MT UT WY For the remaining CONUS, see the related identifiers. Temporal extent The map is representative for ca. 2018. Data format The data are organized by states. Within each state, data are split into 100km x 100km tiles (EQUI7 grid), and mosaics are provided. Within each tile, images for area, volume, and mass at 10m spatial resolution are provided. Units are m², m³, and t, respectively. Each metric is split into buildings, other, rail and street (note: In the paper, other, rail, and street stocks are subsumed to mobility infrastructure). Each category is further split into subcategories (e.g. building types). Additionally, a grand total of all stocks is provided at multiple spatial resolutions and units, i.e. t at 10m x 10m kt at 100m x 100m Mt at 1km x 1km Gt at 10km x 10km For each state, mosaics of all above-described data are provided in GDAL VRT format, which can readily be opened in most Geographic Information Systems. File paths are relative, i.e. DO NOT change the file structure or file naming. Additionally, the grand total mass per state is tabulated for each county in mass_grand_total_t_10m2.tif.csv. County FIPS code and the ID in this table can be related via FIPS-dictionary_ENLOCALE.csv. Material layers Note that material-specific layers are not included in this repository because of upload limits. Only the totals are provided (i.e. the sum over all materials). However, these can easily be derived by re-applying the material intensity factors from (see related identifiers): A. Baumgart, D. Virág, D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, Material intensity factors for buildings, roads and rail-based infrastructure in the United States. Zenodo (2022), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5045337. Further information For further information, please see the publication. A web-visualization of this dataset is available here. Visit our website to learn more about our project MAT_STOCKS - Understanding the Role of Material Stock Patterns for the Transformation to a Sustainable Society. Publication D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, A. Baumgart, D. Virág, S. Cooper, C. Gomez-Medina, F. Lehmann, T. Udelhoven, S. van der Linden, P. Hostert, H. Haberl. Weighing the US Economy: Map of Built Structures Unveils Patterns in Human-Dominated Landscapes. In prep Funding This research was primarly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAT_STOCKS, grant agreement No 741950). Workflow development was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 414984028-SFB 1404. Acknowledgments We thank the European Space Agency and the European Commission for freely and openly sharing Sentinel imagery; USGS for the National Land Cover Database; Microsoft for Building Footprints; Geofabrik and all contributors for OpenStreetMap.This dataset was partly produced on EODC - we thank Clement Atzberger for supporting the generation of this dataset by sharing disc space on EODC.

Humanity's role in changing the face of the earth is a long-standing concern, as is the human domination of ecosystems. Geologists are debating the introduction of a new geological epoch, the 'anthropocene', as humans are 'overwhelming the great forces of nature'. In this context, the accumulation of artefacts, i.e., human-made physical objects, is a pervasive phenomenon. Variously dubbed 'manufactured capital', 'technomass', 'human-made mass', 'in-use stocks' or 'socioeconomic material stocks', they have become a major focus of sustainability sciences in the last decade. Globally, the mass of socioeconomic material stocks now exceeds 10e14 kg, which is roughly equal to the dry-matter equivalent of all biomass on earth. It is doubling roughly every 20 years, almost perfectly in line with 'real' (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP. In terms of mass, buildings and infrastructures (here collectively called 'built structures') represent the overwhelming majority of all socioeconomic material stocks. This dataset features a detailed map of material stocks in the CONUS on a 10m grid based on high resolution Earth Observation data (Sentinel-1 + Sentinel-2), crowd-sourced geodata (OSM) and material intensity factors. Spatial extentThis dataset covers the whole CONUS. Due to upload constraints, detailed data were split into 7 regions and were uploaded into sub-repositories - see related identifiers. (This repository holds aggregated values for the whole CONUS) Great Plains Mid West North East Rocky Mountains South South West West Coast Temporal extentThe map is representative for ca. 2018. Data formatThe data are organized by states. Within each state, data are split into 100km x 100km tiles (EQUI7 grid), and mosaics are provided. Within each tile, images for area, volume, and mass at 10m spatial resolution are provided. Units are m², m³, and t, respectively. Each metric is split into buildings, other, rail and street (note: In the paper, other, rail, and street stocks are subsumed to mobility infrastructure). Each category is further split into subcategories (e.g. building types). Additionally, a grand total of all stocks is provided at multiple spatial resolutions and units, i.e. t at 10m x 10m kt at 100m x 100m Mt at 1km x 1km Gt at 10km x 10km For each state, mosaics of all above-described data are provided in GDAL VRT format, which can readily be opened in most Geographic Information Systems. File paths are relative, i.e. DO NOT change the file structure or file naming. Additionally, the grand total mass per state is tabulated for each county in mass_grand_total_t_10m2.tif.csv. County FIPS code and the ID in this table can be related via FIPS-dictionary_ENLOCALE.csv. Material layersNote that material-specific layers are not included in this repository because of upload limits. Only the totals are provided (i.e. the sum over all materials). However, these can easily be derived by re-applying the material intensity factors from (see related identifiers): A. Baumgart, D. Virág, D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, Material intensity factors for buildings, roads and rail-based infrastructure in the United States. Zenodo (2022), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5045337. Further informationFor further information, please see the publication.A web-visualization of this dataset is available here.Visit our website to learn more about our project MAT_STOCKS - Understanding the Role of Material Stock Patterns for the Transformation to a Sustainable Society. PublicationD. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, A. Baumgart, D. Virág, S. Cooper, C. Gómez-Medina, F. Lehmann, T. Udelhoven, S. van der Linden, P. Hostert, and H. Haberl (2023): Unveiling patterns in human dominated landscapes through mapping the mass of US built structures. Nature Communications 14, 8014. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43755-5 FundingThis research was primarly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAT_STOCKS, grant agreement No 741950). Workflow development was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 414984028-SFB 1404. AcknowledgmentsWe thank the European Space Agency and the European Commission for freely and openly sharing Sentinel imagery; USGS for the National Land Cover Database; Microsoft for Building Footprints; Geofabrik and all contributors for OpenStreetMap.This dataset was partly produced on EODC - we thank Clement Atzberger for supporting the generation of this dataset by sharing disc space on EODC, and Wolfgang Wagner for granting access to preprocessed Sentinel-1 data.

Humanity’s role in changing the face of the earth is a long-standing concern, as is the human domination of ecosystems. Geologists are debating the introduction of a new geological epoch, the ‘anthropocene’, as humans are ‘overwhelming the great forces of nature’. In this context, the accumulation of artefacts, i.e., human-made physical objects, is a pervasive phenomenon. Variously dubbed ‘manufactured capital’, ‘technomass’, ‘human-made mass’, ‘in-use stocks’ or ‘socioeconomic material stocks’, they have become a major focus of sustainability sciences in the last decade. Globally, the mass of socioeconomic material stocks now exceeds 10e14 kg, which is roughly equal to the dry-matter equivalent of all biomass on earth. It is doubling roughly every 20 years, almost perfectly in line with ‘real’ (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP. In terms of mass, buildings and infrastructures (here collectively called ‘built structures’) represent the overwhelming majority of all socioeconomic material stocks. This dataset features a detailed map of material stocks in the CONUS on a 10m grid based on high resolution Earth Observation data (Sentinel-1 + Sentinel-2), crowd-sourced geodata (OSM) and material intensity factors. Spatial extent This subdataset covers the North East CONUS, i.e. CT DC DE MA MD ME NH NJ NY PA RI VA For the remaining CONUS, see the related identifiers. Temporal extent The map is representative for ca. 2018. Data format The data are organized by states. Within each state, data are split into 100km x 100km tiles (EQUI7 grid), and mosaics are provided. Within each tile, images for area, volume, and mass at 10m spatial resolution are provided. Units are m², m³, and t, respectively. Each metric is split into buildings, other, rail and street (note: In the paper, other, rail, and street stocks are subsumed to mobility infrastructure). Each category is further split into subcategories (e.g. building types). Additionally, a grand total of all stocks is provided at multiple spatial resolutions and units, i.e. t at 10m x 10m kt at 100m x 100m Mt at 1km x 1km Gt at 10km x 10km For each state, mosaics of all above-described data are provided in GDAL VRT format, which can readily be opened in most Geographic Information Systems. File paths are relative, i.e. DO NOT change the file structure or file naming. Additionally, the grand total mass per state is tabulated for each county in mass_grand_total_t_10m2.tif.csv. County FIPS code and the ID in this table can be related via FIPS-dictionary_ENLOCALE.csv. Material layers Note that material-specific layers are not included in this repository because of upload limits. Only the totals are provided (i.e. the sum over all materials). However, these can easily be derived by re-applying the material intensity factors from (see related identifiers): A. Baumgart, D. Virág, D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, Material intensity factors for buildings, roads and rail-based infrastructure in the United States. Zenodo (2022), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5045337. Further information For further information, please see the publication. A web-visualization of this dataset is available here. Visit our website to learn more about our project MAT_STOCKS - Understanding the Role of Material Stock Patterns for the Transformation to a Sustainable Society. Publication D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, A. Baumgart, D. Virág, S. Cooper, C. Gomez-Medina, F. Lehmann, T. Udelhoven, S. van der Linden, P. Hostert, H. Haberl. Weighing the US Economy: Map of Built Structures Unveils Patterns in Human-Dominated Landscapes. In prep Funding This research was primarly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAT_STOCKS, grant agreement No 741950). Workflow development was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 414984028-SFB 1404. Acknowledgments We thank the European Space Agency and the European Commission for freely and openly sharing Sentinel imagery; USGS for the National Land Cover Database; Microsoft for Building Footprints; Geofabrik and all contributors for OpenStreetMap.This dataset was partly produced on EODC - we thank Clement Atzberger for supporting the generation of this dataset by sharing disc space on EODC.

Humanity’s role in changing the face of the earth is a long-standing concern, as is the human domination of ecosystems. Geologists are debating the introduction of a new geological epoch, the ‘anthropocene’, as humans are ‘overwhelming the great forces of nature’. In this context, the accumulation of artefacts, i.e., human-made physical objects, is a pervasive phenomenon. Variously dubbed ‘manufactured capital’, ‘technomass’, ‘human-made mass’, ‘in-use stocks’ or ‘socioeconomic material stocks’, they have become a major focus of sustainability sciences in the last decade. Globally, the mass of socioeconomic material stocks now exceeds 10e14 kg, which is roughly equal to the dry-matter equivalent of all biomass on earth. It is doubling roughly every 20 years, almost perfectly in line with ‘real’ (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP. In terms of mass, buildings and infrastructures (here collectively called ‘built structures’) represent the overwhelming majority of all socioeconomic material stocks. This dataset features a detailed map of material stocks in the CONUS on a 10m grid based on high resolution Earth Observation data (Sentinel-1 + Sentinel-2), crowd-sourced geodata (OSM) and material intensity factors. Spatial extent This subdataset covers the Great Plains CONUS, i.e. KS ND NE OK SD For the remaining CONUS, see the related identifiers. Temporal extent The map is representative for ca. 2018. Data format The data are organized by states. Within each state, data are split into 100km x 100km tiles (EQUI7 grid), and mosaics are provided. Within each tile, images for area, volume, and mass at 10m spatial resolution are provided. Units are m², m³, and t, respectively. Each metric is split into buildings, other, rail and street (note: In the paper, other, rail, and street stocks are subsumed to mobility infrastructure). Each category is further split into subcategories (e.g. building types). Additionally, a grand total of all stocks is provided at multiple spatial resolutions and units, i.e. t at 10m x 10m kt at 100m x 100m Mt at 1km x 1km Gt at 10km x 10km For each state, mosaics of all above-described data are provided in GDAL VRT format, which can readily be opened in most Geographic Information Systems. File paths are relative, i.e. DO NOT change the file structure or file naming. Additionally, the grand total mass per state is tabulated for each county in mass_grand_total_t_10m2.tif.csv. County FIPS code and the ID in this table can be related via FIPS-dictionary_ENLOCALE.csv. Material layers Note that material-specific layers are not included in this repository because of upload limits. Only the totals are provided (i.e. the sum over all materials). However, these can easily be derived by re-applying the material intensity factors from (see related identifiers): A. Baumgart, D. Virág, D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, Material intensity factors for buildings, roads and rail-based infrastructure in the United States. Zenodo (2022), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5045337. Further information For further information, please see the publication. A web-visualization of this dataset is available here. Visit our website to learn more about our project MAT_STOCKS - Understanding the Role of Material Stock Patterns for the Transformation to a Sustainable Society. Publication D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, A. Baumgart, D. Virág, S. Cooper, C. Gomez-Medina, F. Lehmann, T. Udelhoven, S. van der Linden, P. Hostert, H. Haberl. Weighing the US Economy: Map of Built Structures Unveils Patterns in Human-Dominated Landscapes. In prep Funding This research was primarly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAT_STOCKS, grant agreement No 741950). Workflow development was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 414984028-SFB 1404. Acknowledgments We thank the European Space Agency and the European Commission for freely and openly sharing Sentinel imagery; USGS for the National Land Cover Database; Microsoft for Building Footprints; Geofabrik and all contributors for OpenStreetMap.This dataset was partly produced on EODC - we thank Clement Atzberger for supporting the generation of this dataset by sharing disc space on EODC.

Humanity’s role in changing the face of the earth is a long-standing concern, as is the human domination of ecosystems. Geologists are debating the introduction of a new geological epoch, the ‘anthropocene’, as humans are ‘overwhelming the great forces of nature’. In this context, the accumulation of artefacts, i.e., human-made physical objects, is a pervasive phenomenon. Variously dubbed ‘manufactured capital’, ‘technomass’, ‘human-made mass’, ‘in-use stocks’ or ‘socioeconomic material stocks’, they have become a major focus of sustainability sciences in the last decade. Globally, the mass of socioeconomic material stocks now exceeds 10e14 kg, which is roughly equal to the dry-matter equivalent of all biomass on earth. It is doubling roughly every 20 years, almost perfectly in line with ‘real’ (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP. In terms of mass, buildings and infrastructures (here collectively called ‘built structures’) represent the overwhelming majority of all socioeconomic material stocks. This dataset features a detailed map of material stocks in the CONUS on a 10m grid based on high resolution Earth Observation data (Sentinel-1 + Sentinel-2), crowd-sourced geodata (OSM) and material intensity factors. Spatial extent This subdataset covers the Mid West CONUS, i.e. IA IL IN MI MN MO OH WI For the remaining CONUS, see the related identifiers. Temporal extent The map is representative for ca. 2018. Data format The data are organized by states. Within each state, data are split into 100km x 100km tiles (EQUI7 grid), and mosaics are provided. Within each tile, images for area, volume, and mass at 10m spatial resolution are provided. Units are m², m³, and t, respectively. Each metric is split into buildings, other, rail and street (note: In the paper, other, rail, and street stocks are subsumed to mobility infrastructure). Each category is further split into subcategories (e.g. building types). Additionally, a grand total of all stocks is provided at multiple spatial resolutions and units, i.e. t at 10m x 10m kt at 100m x 100m Mt at 1km x 1km Gt at 10km x 10km For each state, mosaics of all above-described data are provided in GDAL VRT format, which can readily be opened in most Geographic Information Systems. File paths are relative, i.e. DO NOT change the file structure or file naming. Additionally, the grand total mass per state is tabulated for each county in mass_grand_total_t_10m2.tif.csv. County FIPS code and the ID in this table can be related via FIPS-dictionary_ENLOCALE.csv. Material layers Note that material-specific layers are not included in this repository because of upload limits. Only the totals are provided (i.e. the sum over all materials). However, these can easily be derived by re-applying the material intensity factors from (see related identifiers): A. Baumgart, D. Virág, D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, Material intensity factors for buildings, roads and rail-based infrastructure in the United States. Zenodo (2022), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5045337. Further information For further information, please see the publication. A web-visualization of this dataset is available here. Visit our website to learn more about our project MAT_STOCKS - Understanding the Role of Material Stock Patterns for the Transformation to a Sustainable Society. Publication D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, A. Baumgart, D. Virág, S. Cooper, C. Gomez-Medina, F. Lehmann, T. Udelhoven, S. van der Linden, P. Hostert, H. Haberl. Weighing the US Economy: Map of Built Structures Unveils Patterns in Human-Dominated Landscapes. In prep Funding This research was primarly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAT_STOCKS, grant agreement No 741950). Workflow development was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 414984028-SFB 1404. Acknowledgments We thank the European Space Agency and the European Commission for freely and openly sharing Sentinel imagery; USGS for the National Land Cover Database; Microsoft for Building Footprints; Geofabrik and all contributors for OpenStreetMap.This dataset was partly produced on EODC - we thank Clement Atzberger for supporting the generation of this dataset by sharing disc space on EODC.

AbstractBuilt structures increasingly dominate the Earth’s landscapes; their surging mass is currently overtaking global biomass. We here assess built structures in the conterminous US by quantifying the mass of 14 stock-building materials in eight building types and nine types of mobility infrastructures. Our high-resolution maps reveal that built structures have become 2.6 times heavier than all plant biomass across the country and that most inhabited areas are mass-dominated by buildings or infrastructure. We analyze determinants of the material intensity and show that densely built settlements have substantially lower per-capita material stocks, while highest intensities are found in sparsely populated regions due to ubiquitous infrastructures. Out-migration aggravates already high intensities in rural areas as people leave while built structures remain – highlighting that quantifying the distribution of built-up mass at high resolution is an essential contribution to understanding the biophysical basis of societies, and to inform strategies to design more resource-efficient settlements and a sustainable circular economy.

Humanity’s role in changing the face of the earth is a long-standing concern, as is the human domination of ecosystems. Geologists are debating the introduction of a new geological epoch, the ‘anthropocene’, as humans are ‘overwhelming the great forces of nature’. In this context, the accumulation of artefacts, i.e., human-made physical objects, is a pervasive phenomenon. Variously dubbed ‘manufactured capital’, ‘technomass’, ‘human-made mass’, ‘in-use stocks’ or ‘socioeconomic material stocks’, they have become a major focus of sustainability sciences in the last decade. Globally, the mass of socioeconomic material stocks now exceeds 10e14 kg, which is roughly equal to the dry-matter equivalent of all biomass on earth. It is doubling roughly every 20 years, almost perfectly in line with ‘real’ (i.e. inflation-adjusted) GDP. In terms of mass, buildings and infrastructures (here collectively called ‘built structures’) represent the overwhelming majority of all socioeconomic material stocks. This dataset features a detailed map of material stocks in the CONUS on a 10m grid based on high resolution Earth Observation data (Sentinel-1 + Sentinel-2), crowd-sourced geodata (OSM) and material intensity factors. Spatial extent This subdataset covers the South West CONUS, i.e. AZ NM NV TX For the remaining CONUS, see the related identifiers. Temporal extent The map is representative for ca. 2018. Data format The data are organized by states. Within each state, data are split into 100km x 100km tiles (EQUI7 grid), and mosaics are provided. Within each tile, images for area, volume, and mass at 10m spatial resolution are provided. Units are m², m³, and t, respectively. Each metric is split into buildings, other, rail and street (note: In the paper, other, rail, and street stocks are subsumed to mobility infrastructure). Each category is further split into subcategories (e.g. building types). Additionally, a grand total of all stocks is provided at multiple spatial resolutions and units, i.e. t at 10m x 10m kt at 100m x 100m Mt at 1km x 1km Gt at 10km x 10km For each state, mosaics of all above-described data are provided in GDAL VRT format, which can readily be opened in most Geographic Information Systems. File paths are relative, i.e. DO NOT change the file structure or file naming. Additionally, the grand total mass per state is tabulated for each county in mass_grand_total_t_10m2.tif.csv. County FIPS code and the ID in this table can be related via FIPS-dictionary_ENLOCALE.csv. Material layers Note that material-specific layers are not included in this repository because of upload limits. Only the totals are provided (i.e. the sum over all materials). However, these can easily be derived by re-applying the material intensity factors from (see related identifiers): A. Baumgart, D. Virág, D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, Material intensity factors for buildings, roads and rail-based infrastructure in the United States. Zenodo (2022), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5045337. Further information For further information, please see the publication. A web-visualization of this dataset is available here. Visit our website to learn more about our project MAT_STOCKS - Understanding the Role of Material Stock Patterns for the Transformation to a Sustainable Society. Publication D. Frantz, F. Schug, D. Wiedenhofer, A. Baumgart, D. Virág, S. Cooper, C. Gomez-Medina, F. Lehmann, T. Udelhoven, S. van der Linden, P. Hostert, H. Haberl. Weighing the US Economy: Map of Built Structures Unveils Patterns in Human-Dominated Landscapes. In prep Funding This research was primarly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAT_STOCKS, grant agreement No 741950). Workflow development was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 414984028-SFB 1404. Acknowledgments We thank the European Space Agency and the European Commission for freely and openly sharing Sentinel imagery; USGS for the National Land Cover Database; Microsoft for Building Footprints; Geofabrik and all contributors for OpenStreetMap.This dataset was partly produced on EODC - we thank Clement Atzberger for supporting the generation of this dataset by sharing disc space on EODC.