Landsat Explorer Makes Longest-Running Continuous Satellite Imagery More Accessible for Decision-Makers
REDLANDS, Calif.—February 13, 2024—Esri, the global leader in mapping and location intelligence, announces the launch of Landsat Explorer, a groundbreaking online app that makes it easier than ever for organizations to access and analyze multispectral imagery from Landsat satellite missions. Remote sensing and earth observation imagery play a crucial role in helping organizations at local, regional, and national government levels make informed decisions about natural resources, man-made landscapes, and the environment. The new app from Esri’s ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World provides unprecedented ease of use and accessibility to Landsat Level-2 multispectral imagery, empowering organizations to make informed decisions about natural resources and the environment. With a deep temporal record, multispectral imagery from the Landsat satellite missions supports a diverse range of land monitoring applications.
“Landsat multispectral imagery is a critical tool for organizations that must track, and document land use and land change associated with climate change, urbanization, drought, wildfire, deforestation, and other natural processes and human activity,” said Sean Breyer, Esri program manager for ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. “This imagery is a record dating back over 40 years, constituting one of the most valuable sources for understanding land change from a temporal perspective. GIS not only makes data such as Landsat easy to access and share, but it also enables users to derive and disseminate valuable insights from them.”
The new app enables the discovery and exploration of Landsat imagery that is highly user-friendly and will prove especially valuable to organizations working with remote sensing and earth observation imagery. Jointly managed by the USGS and NASA, Landsat is the longest-running spaceborne land observation program in history. The Landsat program officially began in 1972 with the launch of Landsat 1, and with Landsat 4 in 1982, the program began providing mission-to-mission data continuity. This data continuity is critical for reliable observation and analysis of Earth processes and changes over time.
Available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, the Landsat Level-2 data is a dynamic time series of imagery accessible across the ArcGIS system and used to power the Landsat Explorer web app. Through an intuitive user experience, the app leverages a variety of ArcGIS capabilities to explore and unlock the wealth of information that Landsat provides. Some key capabilities include:
- Visual exploration of a dynamic global mosaic of the best available Landsat scenes.
- On-the-fly multispectral band combinations and indices for visualization and analysis.
- Interactive Find a Scene by location, sensor, time, and cloud cover.
- Visual change over time with Swipe and Animation modes.
- Spectral analysis for vegetation, water, land surface temperature, and more.
To explore the app online now, go to livingatlas.arcgis.com/landsatexplorer.
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in hundreds of thousands of organizations globally, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofit institutions, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial technology and analytics, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions that leverage a geographic approach to solving some of the world’s most complex problems by placing them in the crucial context of location. Visit us at esri.com.
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