News - General News

ESA's improved Earth system data records: what is in store for the future?

Fundamental Data Records (FDRs) are instrumental in advancing our understanding of Earth systems and for addressing societal challenges effectively. These long-term records contain uncertainty-quantified, calibrated and geo-located multi-instrument/multi-platform satellite sensor data spanning several decades to support climate-related applications.

Document - Newsletter

Earth Online Newsletter - 08 March 2024

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

News - Data Release news

FDR4ALT - ESA unveils new cutting-edge ERS/Envisat Altimeter and Microwave Radiometer Datasets

The European Space Agency (ESA) has developed a comprehensive suite of innovative Earth system data records as part of the Fundamental Data Records for Altimetry project - FDR4ALT.

News - Thematic area articles

Cloud-free collections key for land monitoring

Satellite imagery is a crucially important tool for monitoring the land, but cloud cover can often block parts of Earth’s surface from view, limiting subsequent analyses.

News - Success Stories

Commercial and international data for fire monitoring

As climate change sparks a surge in the frequency and intensity of wildfires, satellite data disseminated through ESA’s Third Party Missions (TPM) programme are helping scientists to track and investigate these potentially damaging natural events.

News - Success Stories

ESA missions help to reveal worldwide lake water loss trend

Climate change, human consumption and sedimentation are depleting more than half of the world’s biggest lakes of water, according to a ground-breaking analysis that drew on three decades of satellite data.

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 the 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 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 - Thematic area articles

Transforming space data into climate action

ESA’s Earth observation activities are playing a key role in the revitalised global drive to combat climate change.

Activity - Projects

Dragon 2 Cooperation Programme

The Dragon 2 Programme focussed on the exploitation of ESA, ESA's Third Party Missions and Chinese Earth observation data for science and applications development in land, ocean and atmospheric applications.

Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)

Landsat ETM+ ESA archive

This dataset contains all the Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper high-quality ortho-rectified L1T products (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 100 m). Each band requires 50 MB (uncompressed), and Band 8 requires 200 MB (panchromatic band with resolution of 15 m opposed to 30 m). Kiruna, Maspalomas and Matera Landsat-7 ETM density maps

Tools - Apps

Heritage Missions app for iOS

Download the Heritage Missions application to discover what the missions were about, how it worked and what the elements of the space and ground segment that make these missions unique.

Tools - Apps

Heritage Missions app for Android

Download the Heritage Missions application to discover what the missions were about, how it worked and what the elements of the space and ground segment that make these missions unique.

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.

News - Infographics

Envisat - ESA's versatile Earth observation satellite

Learn more about ESA's Envisat mission - the largest Earth observation satellite ever built - in a new infographic.

Document - Technical Note

Envisat RA-2 Range Instrumental correction - USO clock periodvariations and associated auxiliary file

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

Data - Fast Registration with immediate access (Open)

Envisat RA-2 Sensor and Geophysical Data Record - SGDR [RA2_MWS__2P]

This is a RA-2 Sensor and Geophysical Data Record (SGDR) Full Mission Reprocessing (FMR) V3 product. This FMR follows the first Envisat Altimetry reprocessing Version (V2.1) completed in 2012. The GDR and S-GDR data products were reprocessed for all cycles from 6 to 113 (May 2002 to April 2012) into a homogeneous standard in NetCDF format (close to Sentinel-3). The Sensor Data Record (SGDR) Product from RA-2/MWR includes the data in the GDR product (RA-2 geophysical data, MWR data) and also RA-2 averaged waveforms (18Hz) and RA-2 individual waveforms (1800Hz). This product is a continuation of ERS RA data. This data product has a coverage of 1 pass and pole to pole, a spatial sampling of about 390 m along track and a size of 31 to 40 MB, depending on presence of individual waveforms. The radiometric accuracy is 0.2 dB and auxiliary data include: Orbit state vectors (DORIS, FOS), RA2 and MWR characterisation data, Platform attitude, Gain calibration, USO frequency, ECMWF data, time relation, leap second, Ionospheric corrections, geoid, mean sea surface, slope data, and tide model (ocean, earth, loading, pole). Please consult the Envisat RA-2/MWR Product Quality Readme file before using the data.

Data - Fast Registration with immediate access (Open)

Envisat RA-2 Geophysical Data Record - GDR [RA2_GDR__2P]

This is a RA-2 Geophysical Data Record (GDR) Full Mission Reprocessing (FMR) V3 product containing radar range and orbital altitude, wind speed, wave height, water vapour from the MWR and geophysical corrections. This FMR follows the first Envisat Altimetry reprocessing Version (V2.1) completed in 2012. The GDR and S-GDR data products were reprocessed for all cycles from 6 to 113 (May 2002 to April 2012) into a homogeneous standard in NetCDF format (close to Sentinel-3). For many aspects, the V3.0 reprocessed data are better than the previous dataset: In terms of available and valid data, the coverage is better, notably thanks to a better availability of MWR data at the beginning of the mission In terms of performance at cross-overs, the quality is improved: the annual signal and average of Mean SSH is decreased, as well as the standard deviation The new MWR characteristics were shown to improve largely the global quality of data. As well as the new tide model, the new MSS and the new orbit standard The Global and regional Mean Sea Level trend is very weakly impacted though the effort was put, this time, on the mesoscale restitution, rather than long term drift, as during V2.1 reprocessing. Please consult the Envisat RA-2/MWR Product Quality Readme file PDF before using the data.