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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.
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.
Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)
Land Ice Thematic Data Product [ALT_TDP_LI]
This is the Land Ice Thematic Data Product (TDP) V1 resulting from the ESA FDR4ALT project and containing estimates of ice sheet surface elevation and associated uncertainties. The collection covers data for three different missions: ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat, and based on Level 1 data coming from previous reprocessing (ERS REAPER and the Envisat V3.0) but taking into account the improvements made at Level 0/Level 1 in the frame of FDR4ALT (ALT FDR). The Land Ice TDP focuses specifically on the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, providing these data in different files. For many aspects, the Land Ice Level 2 and Level 2+ processing is very innovative: Improved relocation approach correcting for topographic effects within the beam footprint to identify the Point of Closest Approach Homogeneous timeseries of surface elevation measurements at regular along-track reference nodes. The FDR4ALT products are available in NetCDF format. Free standard tools for reading NetCDF data can be used. Information for expert altimetry users is also available in a dedicated NetCDF group within the products. Please consult the FDR4ALT Product User Guide before using the data. The FDR4ALT datasets represent the new reference data for the ERS/Envisat altimetry missions, superseding any previous mission data. Users are strongly encouraged to make use of these datasets for optimal results.
Data - EO Sign In Authentication (Open)
Inland Waters Thematic Data Product [ALT_TDP_IW]
This is the Inland Waters Thematic Data Product (TDP) V1 resulting from the ESA FDR4ALT project and containing improved Water Surface Height (WSH) data record from the ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat missions estimated using the ICE1 retracking range for its better performance on the hydro targets. The FDR4ALT products are available in NetCDF format. Free standard tools for reading NetCDF data can be used. Information for expert altimetry users is also available in a dedicated NetCDF group within the products. Please consult the FDR4ALT Product User Guide before using the data. The FDR4ALT datasets represent the new reference data for the ERS/Envisat altimetry missions, superseding any previous mission data. Users are strongly encouraged to make use of these datasets for optimal results.
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.
News - Success Stories
Decades of satellite data reveal the risks of climate tipping points
Decades-long time series that draw on ESA’s Earth observation archives are enabling scientists to uncover the threat of sudden and potentially irreversible changes to the icy parts of the planet.
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.
News - Spotlight on EO community
Introducing Mirko Albani
In this short introduction, ESA's Heritage Missions Programme Manager describes what he likes most about ESA's long term archive of satellite mission data and his role in the programme.
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.
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.
Data - Fast Registration with approval (Restrained)
WorldView ESA archive
The WorldView ESA archive is composed of products acquired by WorldView-1, -2, -3 and -4 satellites and requested by ESA supported projects over their areas of interest around the world Panchromatic, 4-Bands, 8-Bands and SWIR products are part of the offer, with the resolution at Nadir depicted in the table. Band Combination Mission GSD Resolution at Nadir GSD Resolution (20° off nadir) Panchromatic WV-1 50 cm 55 cm WV-2 46 cm 52 cm WV-3 31 cm 34 cm WV-4 31 cm 34 cm 4-Bands WV-2 1.84 m 2.4 m WV-3 1.24 m 1.38 m WV-4 1.24 m 1.38 m 8-Bands WV-2 1.84 m 2.4 m WV-3 1.24 m 1.38 m SWIR WV-3 3.70 m 4.10 m The 4-Bands includes various options such as Multispectral (separate channel for Blue, Green, Red, NIR1), Pan-sharpened (Blue, Green, Red, NIR1), Bundle (separate bands for PAN, Blue, Green, Red, NIR1), Natural Colour (pan-sharpened Blue, Green, Red), Coloured Infrared (pan-sharpened Green, Red, NIR). The 8-Bands being an option from Multispectral (COASTAL, Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Red EDGE, NIR1, NIR2) and Bundle (PAN, COASTAL, Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Red EDGE, NIR1, NIR2). The processing levels are: Standard (2A): normalised for topographic relief View Ready Standard: ready for orthorectification (RPB files embedded) View Ready Stereo: collected in-track for stereo viewing and manipulation (not available for SWIR) Map Scale (Ortho) 1:12,000 Orthorectified: additional processing unnecessary Spatial coverage: Check the spatial coverage of the collection on a map available on the Third Party Missions Dissemination Service. The following table summarises the offered product types EO-SIP Product Type Band Combination Processing Level Missions WV6_PAN_2A Panchromatic (PAN) Standard/View Ready Standard WorldView-1 and 4 WV6_PAN_OR Panchromatic (PAN) View Ready Stereo WorldView-1 and 4 WV6_PAN_MP Panchromatic (PAN) Map Scale Ortho WorldView-1 and 4 WV1_PAN__2A Panchromatic (PAN) Standard/View Ready Standard WorldView-2 and 3 WV1_PAN__OR Panchromatic (PAN) View Ready Stereo WorldView-2 and 3 WV1_PAN__MP Panchromatic (PAN) Map Scale Ortho WorldView-2 and 3 WV1_4B__2A 4-Band (4B) Standard/View Ready Standard WorldView-2, 3 and 4 WV1_4B__OR 4-Band (4B) View Ready Stereo WorldView-2, 3 and 4 WV1_4B__MP 4-Band (4B) Map Scale Ortho WorldView-2, 3 and 4 WV1_8B_2A 8-Band (8B) Standard/View Ready Standard WorldView-2 and 3 WV1_8B_OR 8-Band (8B) View Ready Stereo WorldView-2 and 3 WV1_8B_MP 8-Band (8B) Map Scale Ortho WorldView-2 and 3 WV1_S8B__2A SWIR Standard/View Ready Standard WorldView-3 WV1_S8B__MP SWIR Map Scale Ortho WorldView-3 As per ESA policy, very high-resolution imagery of conflict areas cannot be provided.
Mission - Third Party Missions
WorldView-4
WorldView-4 was an imaging and environment-monitoring satellite from Maxar of the United States, which offered very high resolution imagery.
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.
Data - Project Proposal (Restrained)
WorldView-3 full archive and tasking
WorldView-3 high resolution optical products are available as part of the Maxar Standard Satellite Imagery products from the QuickBird, WorldView-1/-2/-3/-4, and GeoEye-1 satellites. All details about the data provision, data access conditions and quota assignment procedure are described into the Terms of Applicability available in Resources section. In particular, WorldView-3 offers archive and tasking panchromatic products up to 0.31m GSD resolution, 4-Bands/8-Bands products up to 1.24 m GSD resolution, and SWIR products up to 3.70 m GSD resolution. Band Combination Data Processing Level Resolution High Res Optical: Panchromatic and 4-bands Standard(2A)/View Ready Standard (OR2A) 15 cm HD, 30 cm HD, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm View Ready Stereo 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm Map Ready (Ortho) 1:12.000 Orthorectified 15 cm HD, 30 cm HD, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm High Res Optical: 8-bands Standard(2A)/View Ready Standard (OR2A) 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm View Ready Stereo 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm Map Ready (Ortho) 1:12.000 Orthorectified 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm High Res Optical: SWIR Standard(2A)/View Ready Standard (OR2A) 3.7 m or 7.5 m (depending on the collection date) Map Ready (Ortho) 1:12.000 Orthorectified 4-Bands being an optional from: 4-Band Multispectral (BLUE, GREEN, RED, NIR1) 4-Band Pan-sharpened (BLUE, GREEN, RED, NIR1) 4-Band Bundle (PAN, BLUE, GREEN, RED, NIR1) 3-Bands Natural Colour (pan-sharpened BLUE, GREEN, RED) 3-Band Colored Infrared (pan-sharpened GREEN, RED, NIR1) 8-Bands being an optional from: 8-Band Multispectral (COASTAL, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, RED, RED EDGE, NIR1, NIR2) 8-Band Bundle (PAN, COASTAL, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, RED, RED EDGE, NIR1, NIR2) Native 30 cm and 50/60 cm resolution products are processed with MAXAR HD Technology to generate respectively the 15 cm HD and 30 cm HD products: the initial special resolution (GSD) is unchanged but the HD technique increases the number of pixels and improves the visual clarity achieving aesthetically refined imagery with precise edges and well reconstructed details. As per ESA policy, very high-resolution imagery of conflict areas cannot be provided.
Data - Project Proposal (Restrained)
WorldView-2 full archive and tasking
WorldView-2 high resolution optical products are available as part of the Maxar Standard Satellite Imagery products from the QuickBird, WorldView-1/-2/-3/-4, and GeoEye-1 satellites. All details about the data provision, data access conditions and quota assignment procedure are described into the Terms of Applicability available in Resources section. In particular, WorldView-2 offers archive and tasking panchromatic products up to 0.46 m GSD resolution, and 4-Bands/8-Bands Multispectral products up to 1.84 m GSD resolution. Band Combination Data Processing Level Resolution Panchromatic and 4-bands Standard (2A)/View Ready Standard (OR2A) 15 cm HD, 30 cm HD, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm View Ready Stereo 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm Map-Ready (Ortho) 1:12.000 Orthorectified 15 cm HD, 30 cm HD, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm 8-bands Standard(2A)/View Ready Standard (OR2A) 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm View Ready Stereo 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm Map-Ready (Ortho) 1:12.000 Orthorectified 30 cm, 40 cm, 50/60 cm 4-Bands being an optional from: 4-Band Multispectral (BLUE, GREEN, RED, NIR1) 4-Band Pan-sharpened (BLUE, GREEN, RED, NIR1) 4-Band Bundle (PAN, BLUE, GREEN, RED, NIR1) 3-Bands Natural Colour (pan-sharpened BLUE, GREEN, RED) 3-Band Colored Infrared (pan-sharpened GREEN, RED, NIR1). 8-Bands being an optional from: 8-Band Multispectral (COASTAL, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, RED, RED EDGE, NIR1, NIR2) 8-Band Bundle (PAN, COASTAL, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, RED, RED EDGE, NIR1, NIR2). Native 30 cm and 50/60 cm resolution products are processed with MAXAR HD Technology to generate respectively the 15 cm HD and 30 cm HD products: the initial special resolution (GSD) is unchanged but the HD technique increases the number of pixels, improves the visual clarity and allows to obtain an aesthetically refined imagery with precise edges and well reconstructed details. As per ESA policy, very high-resolution imagery of conflict areas cannot be provided.
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.
Mission - Heritage Missions
Envisat
Envisat was ESA's successor to ERS. Envisat carried ten instruments aboard for a wide range of Earth observing fields. The mission was operational from 2002 to 2012.
Document - Proceedings
2004 Envisat and ERS Symposium
The 2004 Envisat and ERS Symposium was held in Salzburg - Austria from 6 to 10 September 2004. The 2004 Envisat and ERS Symposium provided a forum for investigators to present results of ongoing research project activities and assess the development of applications and services.
