The dataset of soil salinity and NDWI index for Vietnam's Mekong Delta (2000-2023)

This is supplementary data for our paper entitled "Quantifying Salinity and Drought Drive Forces on Paddy Field Loss in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam" at Communications Earth & Environment. DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02490-z Our research focuses on the Vietnam's Mekong Delta of Vietnam (VMD), defined here as a geographical region excluding islands beyond the continental shelf within administrative divisions. The VMD boundaries are publicly available via GADM (https://gadm.org/). The dataset comprises NDWI index and soil salinity maps for the VMD, derived from synthetic Landsat images generated for each dry season from 2000 to 2023 (except for 2002-2003 and 2011-2013). The specific time periods defined as the dry season, along with the NDWI and salinity inversion algorithms, are documented within the accompanying code file (READMEzenodo15653696.md). The data can also be interactively explored using this Google Earth Engine Links: https://code.earthengine.google.com/d954fa19abcabfb9a8e04fafc090f2ff. For detailed background information and methodology, please refer to our associated paper as follow: Wang, Q., Yang, K., Zhu, Y., Peng, Z., Chen, S., Su, D., Sun, M., 2025. Quantifying salinity and drought drive forces on paddy field loss in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Commun Earth Environ 6, 503. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02490-z Correspondence author: Kun Yang ([e-mail])