Document - Newsletter

Earth-Online-Newsletter-17-February-2023

This issue of the Earth Online Newsletter covers a selection of the latest news and events from ESA.

News - Data Release news

New Landsat RBV data collection opened to users

ESA is pleased to announce that the Landsat RBV data collection has been opened to users.

Data - Data Description

Landsat 7 ETM + European and Mediterranean Countries Cloud Free Collection

This dataset contains the cloud-free products from Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper collection acquired over Europe, North Africa and middle East; for each scene only one product is selected, with the minimal cloud coverage. The Landsat 7 ETM+ scenes typically cover 185 x 170 km. A standard full scene is nominally centred on the intersection between a Path and Row (the actual image centre can vary by up to 100m). The data are system corrected.

Data - Data Description

Landsat 5 TM European and Mediterranean Countries Cloud Free Collection

This dataset contains the cloud-free products from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper collection acquired over Europe, North Africa and middle East; for each scene only one product is selected, with the minimal cloud coverage. The acquired Landsat TM scene covers approximately 183 x 172.8 km. A standard full scene is nominally centred on the intersection between a path and row (the actual image centre can vary by up to 100 m). The data are system corrected.

News - Data Release news

Full European Landsat data collection now available under the same catalogue

The Full European Landsat data collection, from Landsat-1 to Landsat-8, is now available under the same catalogue

News - Success Stories

Heritage data trains neural networks to detect urban sprawl

Using data from non-operational ESA remote sensing missions, researchers have trained a network of artificial neurons to recognise how cities change over decades. They hope this will help city planners reduce the impact that urbanisation has on the environment.

Event - Training

EO Summer School 3

ESA's series of summer schools, on Monitoring of the Earth System, aims to promote the exploitation of Earth observation data.

Event - Conference

Living Planet Symposium 2022

Learn about the 2022 edition of ESA's Living Planet Symposium.

News - Data Release news

New Landsat-8 Collection-2 Level 1 and Level 2 data now available

Within ESA’s Landsat offering, access to the European coverage of Landsat-8 Collection-2 Level 1 and Level 2 data is now available.

Data - Data Description

Landsat 8 Collection 2 European Coverage

This dataset contains the European Coverage of Landsat-8 Collection 2 data, both Level 1 and Level 2, since the beginning of the mission. Landsat-8 Collection 2 is the result of reprocessing effort on the archive and on fresh products with significant improvement with respect to Collection 1 on data quality, obtained by means of advancements in data processing and algorithm development. The primary characteristic is a relevant improvement in the absolute geolocation accuracy (now re-baselined to the European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-2 Global Reference Image, GRI) but includes also updated digital elevation modelling sources, improved Radiometric Calibration (even correction for the TIRS striping effect), enhanced Quality Assessment Bands, updated and consistent metadata files and usage of Cloud Optimized Georeferenced (COG) Tagged Image File Format. Landsat-8 level 1 products combine data from the 2 Landsat instruments, OLI and TIRS. The level 1 products generated can be either L1TP or L1GT: L1TP - Level 1 Precision Terrain (Corrected) (L1T) products: Radiometrically calibrated and orthorectified using ground control points (GCPs) and digital elevation model (DEM) data to correct for relief displacement. The highest quality Level-1 products suitable for pixel-level time series analysis. GCPs used for L1TP correction are derived from the Global Land Survey 2000 (GLS2000) data set. L1GT - Level 1 Systematic Terrain (Corrected) (L1GT) products: L1GT data products consist of L0 product data with systematic radiometric, geometric and terrain corrections applied and resampled for registration to a cartographic projection, referenced to the WGS84, G873, or current version. The dissemination server contains three different classes of Level1 products Real Time (RT): Newly acquired Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS data are processed upon downlink but use an initial TIRS line-of-sight model parameters; the data is made available in less than 12 hours (4-6 hours typically). Once the data have been reprocessed with the refined TIRS parameters, the products are transitioned to either Tier 1 or Tier 2 and removed from the Real-Time tier (in 14-16 days). Tier 1 (T1): Landsat scenes with the highest available data quality are placed into Tier 1 and are considered suitable for time-series analysis. Tier 1 includes Level-1 Precision and Terrain (L1TP) corrected data that have well-characterized radiometry and are inter-calibrated across the different Landsat instruments. The georegistration of Tier 1 scenes is consistent and within prescribed image-to-image tolerances of ≦ 12-meter radial root mean square error (RMSE). Tier 2 (T2): Landsat scenes not meeting Tier 1 criteria during processing are assigned to Tier 2. Tier 2 scenes adhere to the same radiometric standard as Tier 1 scenes, but do not meet the Tier 1 geometry specification due to less accurate orbital information (specific to older Landsat sensors), significant cloud cover, insufficient ground control, or other factors. This includes Systematic Terrain (L1GT) and Systematic (L1GS) processed data. Landsat-8 level 2 products are generated from L1GT and L1TP Level 1 products that meet the <76 degrees Solar Zenith Angle constraint and include the required auxiliary data inputs to generate a scientifically viable product. The data are available a couple of days after the Level1 T1/T2. The level 2 products generated can be L2SP or L2SR: L2SP - Level 2 Science Products (L2SP) products: include Surface Reflectance (SR), Surface Temperature (ST), ST intermediate bands, an angle coefficients file, and Quality Assessment (QA) Bands. L2SR - Level 2 Surface Reflectance (L2SR) products: include Surface Reflectance (SR), an angle coefficients file, and Quality Assessment (QA) Bands; it is generated if ST could not be generated Two different categories of Level 1 products are offered: LC with Optical, Thermal and Quality Map images, LO with Optical and Quality Map images (Thermal not available). For the Level 2 data, only LC combined products are generated

News - Data Release news

New Landsat-8 Collection-2 Level 1 and Level 2 data available from January

From the beginning of 2022, ESA will start the distribution of the European coverage of Landsat-8 Collection-2 Level 1 and Level 2 products.

Event - Workshop

Space and the Arctic 2009 Workshop

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at an unprecedented rate. This workshop looked at the needs and challenges of working and living in the rapidly changing Arctic and explore how space-based services might help to meet those needs.

News - Infographics

An overview of ESA's Third Party Missions programme

ESA’s Third Party Missions programme consists of almost 50 satellite missions, which are owned by organisations around the world. ESA has agreements with these organisations to acquire, process, and distribute data from their missions

Data - Data Description

Landsat ETM+ ESA archive

This dataset contains all the Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper high-quality ortho-rectified L1T dataset (or L1Gt where not enough GCPs are available) over Kiruna, Maspalomas, Matera and Neustrelitz visibility masks. The Landsat-7 ETM+ scenes typically covers 185 x 170 km. A standard full scene is nominally centred on the intersection between a Path and Row (the actual image centre can vary by up to 100m). Each band requires 50MB (uncompressed), and Band 8 requires 200MB (panchromatic band with resolution of 15 m opposed to 30 m). Kiruna, Maspalomas and Matera Landsat-7 ETM density maps

Data - Data Description

Landsat TM ESA archive

This dataset contains all the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper high-quality ortho-rectified L1T dataset acquired by ESA over the Fucino, Matera, Kiruna and Maspalomas visibility masks, as well as campaign data over Malindi, Bishkek, Chetumal, and Libreville. The acquired Landsat TM scene covers approximately 183 x 172.8 km. A standard full scene is nominally centred on the intersection between a path and row (the actual image centre can vary by up to 100 m). A full image is composed of 6920 pixels x 5760 lines and each band requires 40 MB of storage space (uncompressed) at 30 m spatial resolution in the VIS, NIR and SWIR as well as 120 m in the TIR spectral range. Kiruna Landsat TM GTC density map Maspalomas Landsat TM GTC density map Matera Landsat TM GTC density map

News - Data Release news

New reprocessed Landsat data on a new dissemination server

The full ESA Landsat archive has been reprocessed with the latest version of the processor to provide a homogenous dataset covering MSS, TM and ETM+ data.

Data - Data Description

Landsat MSS ESA Archive

This dataset contains all the Landsat 1 to Landsat 5 Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS) high-quality ortho-rectified Level 1 GEO and GTC dataset acquired by ESA over the Fucino, Kiruna (active from April to September only) and Maspalomas (on campaign basis) visibility masks. The acquired Landsat MSS scene covers approximately 183 x 172.8 km. A standard full scene is nominally centred on the intersection between a path and row (the actual image centre can vary by up to 200 m). The altitude changed from 917 km to 705 km and therefore two World Reference Systems (WRS) were used. A full image is composed of 3460 pixels x 2880 lines with a pixel size of 60 m. Two different product levels are available: Geometrically and terrain corrected GTC Products (L1T): The most accurate level of processing as they incorporate Ground Control Points (GCPs) and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to provide systematic geometric and topographic accuracy; with geodetic accuracy dependent on the number, spatial distribution and accuracy of the GCPs over the scene extent, and the resolution of the DEM used.   Geometrically corrected GEO Product (L1G): Normally generated where there is a lack of GCPs, and are derived purely from data collected by the sensor and spacecraft e.g. ephemeris data. Matera density and coverage map Kiruna density and coverage map Maspalomas density and coverage map

Document - Technical Note

Landsat 7 ETM Image Assessment System Radiometric Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document

Document - Technical Note

Landsat 7 ETM Image Assessment System Geometric Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document

News - Success Stories

New life for Landsat historical data

45 years of data, more than 1.8 million images, these are the numbers of an adventure started 48 years ago with the launch of the first Landsat satellite.