WindPRO Global Satellite Imagery

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Site: Østerild National Test Site, Denmark

Introduction

Sentinel 2 spacecraft (Credit: ESA and Airbus)

With the release of the "windPRO Global Satellite Imagery - 10m" dataset in 2018, users of windPRO 3.2+ obtained free access to high-resolution, reliable and updated satellite imagery from anywhere in the world. The color images of terrain, vegetation and urban areas can be a valuable aid when undertaking roughness classification studies or when you need fully updated maps for a particular area. The dataset was updated in 2022 with more recent and more cloud-free data, so now two versions of this map-dataset exists named after the release year in windPRO:

  • windPRO Global Satellite Imagery - 10m (2018):
    Release year: 2018 - holds data from 2016-2017 - with images a mosaic
  • windPRO Global Satellite Imagery - 10m (2022):
    Release year: 2022 - holds data from 2017-2018 - with images as a composite

Dataset Description

The two polar orbiting Sentinel-2 satellites are a part of the Copernicus Earth Observation system – a large multi-billion euro EU infrastructure project. The 2A-satellite was launched in June 2015 and the 2B in March 2017. Both satellites deliver high-resolution multi-spectral images (in 12 spectral bands) – and have a revisit time of 5 days over any part of the world (but the time of the visit may, of course, coincide with cloudy conditions). Resolution of the satellite imagery is dependent on spectral band and ranging from 10 m to 60 m. The different spectral bands can be combined to provide images with specific purposes, e.g. true-color (RGB-images), highlighting urban areas or vegetation.

The dataset holds a (near) cloud-free dataset based on recent Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and it is available from our windPRO 3.2 release. We are continuously updating the dataset as new satellite images become available - so expect significant improvements over time. At present, a true-color imagery map is available. More false-color images may be added later to ease identification of urban and vegetation areas.

Access, Resolution and Coverage

  • Access: From within the 'Dynamic Maps' section in the windPRO background map area. You will need a windPRO version 3.2+ and and active service agreement to access the data.
  • Resolution: The maximum spatial resolution is 10 m per pixel. Most data are from the period 2016 and later.
  • Coverage: The "WindPRO Global Satellite Imagery" dataset covers most of the globe, except the ocean areas.

Known Issues

Spectral bands of Sentinel 2 compared to Landsat 7/8 (Credit: NASA)

Please note, that this dataset is updated regularly as data sources and images are still being obtained and processed. Currently, you will might see a few areas with inconsistencies, such as:

  1. No data coverage - as data have still not been downloaded
  2. Various levels of cloud cover - as a cloud-free image might not exist
  3. Very dark or light parts of the image - due to brightness adjustment being made at a large size tile level

License and Acknowledgement

  • The European Commission and the European Space Agency are acknowledged for the development and release of the free and open Sentinel-2 data.
  • Development and Integration of this dataset into EMD services was co-supported through the InnoWind project ([http://www.innowind.dk www.innowind.dk) which is co-funded by the Danish Innovation Fund

Attribution

Proper attribution for this data-set would be: "WindPRO Global Satellite Imagery - 10m by EMD International A/S (Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016 & 2017)".

External Links

Innowind Project: http://www.innowind.dk/
Copernicus Data: http://copernicus.eu/