Esri Releases Latest Land Cover Map with Updated Sentinel-2 Satellite Data

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from Business Wire

Published on May 2, 2024 • 3 minutes reading time

Annual high-resolution 10-meter maps for 2017-2023, available in Esri’s ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World

REDLANDS, Calif. – Esri, the world’s leading provider of location information, in its partnership with Impact Observatory, has released an updated global land use/land cover map of the world based on the most current 10-meter Sentinel-2 satellite data. In the update, Sentinel-2’s 10m land use/land cover time series includes new data from 2023 and expands the series to include global coverage from 2017 to 2023.

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Organizations around the world use updated land cover maps to make policy and agricultural decisions on issues such as sustainable development. The update has been carried out every year since 2017. Year-over-year changes in maps can be key indicators that help analysts and decision-makers better understand the impact of earth processes and human activities on the environment. This in turn can serve as a basis for sustainable land management policies.

“Users have the ability to make annual comparisons of global land cover today and in the future,” said Sean Breyer, Esri program manager for ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. “Organizations such as national state resource agencies often need to use this data to set spatial planning priorities and determine budget allocations. With annual Sentinel-2 updates, governments, companies and scientists can now make these data comparisons more reliably.”

Last year, Esri released Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer, a dynamic, ready-to-use online application that allows anyone, anywhere to easily observe changes on these high-resolution global land cover maps. Along with the 2023 Content Update, improvements have been added to the Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer map panel, including:

Users can click the 1:1 button to enlarge the map at the desired location to full resolution.
Users can click the camera button to quickly take high-resolution screen captures.
A link button allows users to click and copy a link to the app in its current state to easily share what they see.
Animation mode allows users to download MP4 videos in different aspect ratios and resolutions depending on where and how they want to share animations.

Esri developed its Sentinel-2 10-meter land use/land cover time series using European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 images hosted on the Microsoft Planetary Computer and machine learning workflows developed by Esri Silver Partner Impact Observatory .

The LULC global time series is available online to more than 10 million geographic information system (GIS) software users through Esri’s ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, the leading collection of geographic information and services, including maps and apps. It can also be viewed in the Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer.

To explore Esri’s updated land cover map online now, visit Livingatlas.arcgis.com/landcoverexplorer.

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About Esri

Esri, the global leader in geographic information systems (GIS), location intelligence and mapping software, helps customers realize the full potential of data to improve operational and business outcomes. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is used in hundreds of thousands of organizations worldwide, 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 develops the most innovative solutions that use a geographic approach to solve some of the world’s most complex problems by placing them in critical location context. Visit us at esri.com.

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