Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) Data Downloads
MGRS Data

MGRS Use Case Examples

Biodiversity
A photo of a bird with a white underbelly and dark and orange feathers around its back, swimming.

Spatial and temporal variation in biodiversity in the European North

This 2004 report from the Kevo Subarctic Research Institute at the University of Turku, Finland, utilizes MGRS to map and monitor biodiversity in the Scandinavian/North European Network of Terrestrial Field Bases (SCANNET region). Squares were assigned to corresponding research bases.

Epidemiology
A photograph of a mosquito.

Mosquito Vectors Of Disease: Spatial Biodiversity, Drivers Of Change And Risk – MODIRISK

This 2009 report from Science for a Sustainable Development (SSD) uses MGRS to create an inventory of endemic and invading mosquito species in Belgium to better understand the risk of the (re)emergence of vector-borne diseases. Each of 312 cells across Belgium was assigned three random points for sampling.

Ornithology
A photograph of a bird with brown and gray feathers on its body and a bright orange head, walking in a plain.

Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative Monitoring Grid

This 2010 report by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory creates a sampling grid for use in Great Landscape Conservation Cooperative monitoring programs, derived from MGRS. The creation of a standardized grid eases collaboration across agencies for monitoring landbirds.

Zoology
A photograph of a dormouse.

Biogeography of European land mammals shows environmentally distinct and spatially coherent clusters

This 2007 report from the Journal of Biogeography uses MGRS to create spatial clusterings of land mammals in Europe based on species occurrence. 124 species’ locations were logged across 2183 grid cells, which was then processed to generate patterns of clusters and compared against climate, geomorphology, and soil characteristics.