CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
Measurements > Land >
Vegetation >
Land cover


Measurement Definition*: Processed from land surface imagery by assigning identified cluster(s) within a given area to specific classes of objects - Accuracy expressed as number of classes. Actually [ classes-1 ] is used, so that smaller figure corresponds to better performance, as usual - Physical unit [ Classes ], Accuracy unit [ Classes-1 ]

Thematic Links
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy
Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
BRLK S-range
S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
Disaster monitoring, sea surface monitoring, information support of environmental managmentImaging radar (SAR)
CSG SAR
COSMO-SkyMed di Seconda Generazione SAR
Operational
All-weather images of ocean, land and ice for monitoring of land surface processes, ice, environmental monitoring, risk management, environmental resources, maritime management, Earth topographic mapping.Imaging radar (SAR)
GSA (1)
Hyperspectral imaging equipment
Operational
Land surface monitoringn/a
HiRI
High-Resolution Imager
Operational
Cartography, land use, risk, agriculture and forestry, civil planning and mapping, digital terrain models, defence.High resolution optical imager
MBEI
Multi-Band Earth Imager
Operational
Multispectral scanner images of land surface.High resolution optical imager
MERSI
Medium Resolution Spectral Imager
Operational
Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.n/a
MERSI-2
Improved Medium Resolution Spectral Imager
Operational
Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.n/a
MERSI-3
Improved Medium Resolution Spectral Imager - 3
Operational
Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.n/a
MERSI-LL
Medium Resolution Spectral Imager - Low-Light
Operational
Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.n/a
MERSI-S
Improved Medium Resolution Spectral Imager - Simplified
Operational
Measurement of vegetation indexes and ocean colour.n/a
MIRS
Middle IR Scanner
Operational
Scanner images of land surface in middle infra-red range.n/a
MODIS
MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
Operational
Data on biological and physical processes on the surface of the Earth and in the lower atmosphere, and on global dynamics. Surface temperatures of land and ocean, chlorophyll fluorescence, land cover measurements, cloud cover (day and night).n/a
MS
Multispectral Imager
Operational
Vegetation and land cover, land cover change.n/a
MSI (Sentinel-2)
Multi-Spectral Instrument (Sentinel-2)
Operational
Optical high spatial resolution imagery over land and coastal areas for Copernicus operational services.High resolution optical imager
OLCI
Ocean and Land Colour Imager
Operational
Marine and land services.n/a
OLI
Operational Land Imager
Operational
Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
OLI-2
Operational Land Imager 2
Operational
Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
PAN (GF-1)
Panchromatic and multispectral imager
Operational
Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use, urban studies.High resolution optical imager
PAN (GF-2)
Panchromatic and multispectral imager
Operational
Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use, urban studies.High resolution optical imager
PAN CAMERA
Panchromatic Camera
Operational
Panchromatic data.High resolution optical imager
Paz SAR-X
X Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
High resolution X-band radar for security, land use, urban management, environmental monitoring, risk management. Different acquisition modes: Spotlight (5 x 5-10 km SSD =<1 m), Scansar (100 x 100 km, SSD <=15 m); Stripmode (strips of 30 x 30 km with SSD 3 m).Imaging radar (SAR)
PSS
Panchromatic imaging system
Operational
Panchromatic data for environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry.High resolution optical imager
SAR (RADARSAT-2)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band
Operational
All-weather images of ocean, ice and land surfaces. Used for monitoring of coastal zones, polar ice, sea ice, sea state, geological features, vegetation and land surface processes.Imaging radar (SAR)
SAR (RCM)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band
Operational
All-weather, C-band data to support ecosystem monitoring, maritime surveillance and disaster management.Imaging radar (SAR)
SAR 2000
Synthetic Aperture Radar - 2000
Operational
All-weather images of ocean, land and ice for monitoring of land surface processes, ice, environmental monitoring, risk management, environmental resources, maritime management, Earth topographic mapping.Imaging radar (SAR)
SAR-L
L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
Land, ocean, emergencies, soil moisture, interferometry, others.Imaging radar (SAR)
S-band SAR
S-band SAR
Operational
SAR imagery for a range of applications including agriculture, maritime and forestryImaging radar (SAR)
Severyanin-M
Severyanin-M
Operational
Land and sea surface monitoringImaging radar (SAR)
SLIM-6-22
Surrey Linear Imager - 6 channel - 22m resolution
Operational
Visible and NIR imagery in support of disaster management - part of the Disaster Management constellation.High resolution optical imager
TIRS
Thermal Infrared Sensor
Operational
Measures longwave thermal infrared surface emittance, land cover state, and change. Used as multipurpose imagery for land applications.n/a
TIRS-2
Thermal Infrared Sensor 2
Operational
Measures longwave thermal infrared surface emittance, land cover state, and change. Used as multipurpose imagery for land applications. TIRS-2 will adhere to the Landsat 8 TIRS instrument performance specifications but will be built to NASA Class-B instrument standards (including a 5-year design life).n/a
VIIRS
Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite
Operational
Global observations of land, ocean, and atmosphere parameters: cloud/weather imagery, sea-surface temperature, ocean colour, land surface vegetation indices.n/a
VNREDSat-1 MS
VNREDSat-1 Multispectral
Operational
The VNREDSat 1 multispectral instrument is designed for land cover measurements and applications.n/a
WFV
Wide Field View
Operational
Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use.n/a
Compact Advanced Payload Wide Swath (CAS500-4)
Compact Advanced Payload Wide Swath (CAS500-4)
Being developed
Agricultural and forest monitoringHigh resolution optical imager
CWFMS
Canadian Wildland Fire Monitoring Sensor
Being developed
Measurements are: Fire Radiative Power (FRP), hotspot locations, rate of spread, burned area mapping. Data products generated: 1) Fire maps, showing location, extent, and timing of forest fire events; 2) Fire characteristics, such as fire line intensity, rate of spread and fuel consumption; 3) Plume dynamics through smoke transport maps and plume heights; 4) Mass of carbon released into atmosphere.n/a
LOTUSat-1 SAR
LOTUSat-1 SAR
Being developed
The LOTUSat-1 SAR instrument is designed for disaster and climate change countermeasure.Imaging radar (SAR)
CAR
High Resolution Camera
Approved
Panchromatic and multispectral (Vis/IR) measurements with high spatial resolution, with stereo capability for DEM generation. Applications in emergencies in general, agriculture, land use/land cover, change detection, urban environment, cartography, topography.High resolution optical imager
Kasatka-R
Kasatka-R
Approved
Disaster monitoring, sea surface monitoring, information support of environmental managmentImaging radar (SAR)
Advanced SAR
Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar X band
Proposed
High resolution microwave radar images for ice watch.Imaging radar (SAR)
LandIS
Landsat Next Instrument Suite
Proposed
Measures surface radiance, land cover state and change (e.g., vegetation type), and longwave termal infrared surface emittance. Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.High resolution optical imager
VNIR
Visible and Near Infra Red
No longer considered
 n/a
* Description adapted from WMO.