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  • A Satellite Perspective of Icebergs A-68 and B-46 in Antarctica, 2018

    See the transformations of Iceberg B-46 and Iceberg A-68 through Proba-V satellite images.

  • New campaign dataset for tomographic sensing experiment

    A new dataset has been released for the TomoSense campaign, which took place in Germany between 2019 and 2021.

  • Space data support Earth’s ecosystems

    ESA’s Earth observation (EO) missions are making a critical contribution to monitoring transformations in our planet’s ecosystems, helping track changes in the vegetation, soil, and ocean that affect these systems.

  • Tracking the world’s forests from space

    As human activities continue to threaten the planet’s forests, data delivered by satellites are boosting global efforts to conserve these crucial natural resources.

  • An overview of the Biomass mission

    In this video, Klaus Scipal - Biomass and SMOS Mission Manager - talks about ESA's upcoming Biomass mission.

  • Introducing the Biomass and SMOS Mission Manager

    In this video, Klaus Scipal describes his role as Mission Manager of Biomass and SMOS, and what he enjoys about his involvement with these dedicated science missions.

  • PROBA-V data improve surface albedo products in Africa

    As ESA’s PROBA-V satellite marks its 10-year launch milestone, data tasked during the mission’s lifetime are still being used to assess changes in land cover.

  • PROBA-V ‘Collection 2’ - Reprocessed Dataset available

    The improved PROBA-V data (Collection 2) has been released. Data is available via the PROBA-V MEP and Terrascope platforms so users can freely exploit the data using Virtual machines, Jupyter Notebooks, and the new viewing application.

  • Pioneering science missions: Summarising ESA’s Earth Explorers

    Designed for research purposes, ESA's Earth Explorer missions are dedicated to monitoring parts of Earth’s system. Learn more about the Earth Explorers in this video.

  • Global understanding of Earth's land surfaces greatly boosted by satellite data

    ESA perform land surface monitoring with a range of instruments onboard satellites acquiring optical and radar data. Collections of data from these missions are freely available for research purposes.

  • An overview of ESA's Biomass Earth Explorer satellite

    Learn about ESA's upcoming Biomass mission, which is dedicated to gathering information about the global distribution of forest biomass, in our latest infographic.

  • Studying forest biomass from space

    Forestry expert Maurizio Santoro, senior researcher at Gamma Remote Sensing and one of the leaders of ESA projects related to the Climate Change Initiative (CCI), explains how the use of various data.

  • How satellite data help to shape society

    Data from ESA’s Earth observation archives are improving understanding of the interactions between human activities and the environment, helping to power green economic development and boosting prosperity in Europe and beyond.

  • What are the next Earth Explorers?

    Learn about the planned missions in the Earth Explorers programme - EarthCARE, Biomass, FLEX, and FORUM - which will further our understanding of Earth’s climate.

  • Space helps monitor Earth’s changing biosphere

    Earth’s biosphere is continually changing. Through its pioneering Earth observation missions, ESA is making critical contributions to monitor these changes and their impacts on Earth’s water and carbon cycles.

  • How space data are transforming the global food system

    European Earth observation activities are accelerating a data-driven transformation in the agriculture sector that is helping farmers adapt to the dual challenges of climate change and population increase.

  • Satellite data boost global understanding of land surface

    Understanding our changing land surface is essential in the study of climate change. Satellites are used to monitor changes to the material that covers Earth’s surface, so-called land cover, such as vegetation and water.

  • ESA's open source computing project for the Biomass mission goes live

    The Biomass Product Algorithm Laboratory (BioPAL) is an open-source scientific computing project, which supports the development of ESA’s Biomass mission algorithms coded in Python.

  • Drone-based Laser Scanning of Tropical Forests for Biomass Cal/Val

    ESA’s upcoming mission Biomass will deliver valuable P-band SAR data aimed at forest aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation across the humid tropics.

  • PROBA-V 1 km, 333 m, and 100 m products

    The PROBA-V VEGETATION Raw products and Synthesis products provided coverage of all significant landmasses worldwide with, in the case of a 10-day synthesis product, a minimum effect of cloud cover, resulting from selection of cloud-free acquisitions during the 10-day period. It provided a daily coverage between Latitudes 35°N and 75°N, and between 35°S and 56°S, and a full coverage every two days at the equator. The VEGETATION instrument was pre-programmed with an indefinite repeated sequence of acquisitions. This nominal acquisition scenario allowed a continuous series of identical products to be generated, with the goal to map land cover and vegetation growth across the entire planet every two days. Level Synthesis Resolution resolution (m) Reflectance Level-1C n/a TOA Level-2A n/a 100 m TOA 333 m TOA 1 km TOA Level-3 S1 100 m TOA TOC TOC NDVI 333 m TOA TOC 1 km TOA TOC S5 100 m TOA TOC TOC NDVI S10 333 m TOC TOC NDVI 1 km TOC TOC NDVI Raw Products Overview Product Description Level-1C Level-1C segments (P – product): Radiometrically corrected Level-1B data, in raw sensor geometry (unprojected) Contains: - Top Of Atmosphere reflectance in the four spectral bands - Longitude/latitude information for every pixel - Geometric viewing conditions - Information on the status map (indicating missing and interpolated measurements). Format: HDF5 & GeoTiFF Level-2A Level-2A segment: projected Level-1C (P–product) data, radiometrically and geometrically corrected. Contains: - TOA reflectance values in the four spectral bands without atmospheric correction being performed - Information on the status map (containing identification of radiometric quality, snow, ice, shadow, clouds, land/sea for every pixel) - Geometric viewing conditions Plate carrée projection (EPSG:4326) with spatial resolution of 100 m, 333 m and 1 km Format: HDF5 & GeoTiFF Synthesis Products Overview Level-3 S1 = daily, S5 = 5 days, S10 = decade Different spatial resolution: 100 m, 333 m and 1 km Divided into so called granules, each measuring 10 degrees x 10 degrees, each granule being delivered as a single file Plate carrée projection (EPSG:4326) Format: HDF5 & GeoTiFF Products Content TOA - Top Of Atmosphere reflectance in the four spectral bands (no atmospheric correction applied) - Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) -Information on the composite status map (containing identification of snow, ice, shadow, clouds, land/sea for every pixel) - Geometric viewing conditions & date and time of selected measurement TOC Level-2A segment: projected Level-1C (P–product) data, radiometrically and geometrically corrected. Contains: - Top Of Canopy (ground surface) reflectance in the four spectral bands, the atmospheric correction being performed using the SMAC (Simplified Method for Atmospheric Corrections) algorithm - Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) - Information on the composite status map (containing identification of snow, ice, shadow, clouds, land/sea for every pixel) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Top Of Canopy product (SMAC algorithm for atmospheric corrections applied) - Geometric viewing conditions & date and time of selected measurement TOC NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Top Of Canopy product (SMAC algorithm for atmospheric corrections applied)