Ordering and using multispectral analytic data

Satellite imagery is more than just a picture; it is a rich collection of data captured across different wavelengths. While truecolor imagery provides a crisp visual of your property, multispectral analytic data allow you to look under the hood at the raw data used for scientific environmental analysis.

What is multispectral data?

Multispectral data refers to imagery captured by sensors that record specific colors or bands of light, including those beyond human vision, like Near-Infrared (NIR). These specific bands are the building blocks for ecological indices like Vegetation (NDVI) and Surface Water (NDWI).

Resolution:

You may notice that analytic multispectral layers appear lower resolution than truecolor imagery. This is a deliberate choice to preserve the integrity of the data for calculating indices like Vegetation (NDVI).

The pansharpening effect: Why truecolor is sharper

High-resolution satellites like Airbus Pléiades Neo or SPOT carry two distinct types of sensors that work in tandem:

  • Panchromatic: A black-and-white sensor that captures a wide range of light. Because it gathers so much light energy, it can produce very small, high-detail pixels (e.g., 30cm for Pléiades Neo).
  • Multispectral: These sensors use filters to capture specific colors (Red, Green, Blue, NIR, etc). These filters block significant light, requiring larger pixels (e.g., 1.2m for Pléiades Neo) to gather enough energy for an accurate reading.

When you view truecolor imagery in Lens, you see a pansharpened image. This process fuses the high-detail capture of the panchromatic band with the individual color bands (R, G, B) of the multispectral bands to create a crisp image for visual monitoring.

Why multispectral imagery stays "raw"

When you use multispectral data in the form of analytic layers like Vegetation (NDVI), we provide these in their native multispectral resolution for two reasons:

  • Data Integrity: Pansharpening slightly alters the original spectral values of pixels to make them fit the higher-resolution grid.
  • Scientific Accuracy: For remote monitoring, "true" data is more important than "pretty" data. Using native pixels ensures your vegetation and moisture indices are mathematically accurate and not skewed by the pansharpening process.

How to order and view multispectral data

You can now order high-resolution multispectral data for the following satellite constellations in Lens:

  • Airbus SPOT (6m)
  • Airbus Pléiades (2m)
  • Airbus Pléiades Neo (1.2m)
  • Airbus SPOT Extended Archive (6m)
  • Airbus Pléiades Extended Archive (2m)
  • Airbus Pléiades Neo Extended Archive (1.2m)

Order data

Open the Order pane and navigate to the Data tab. From there, browse thumbnails and imagery to select your desired high-resolution capture. 

Similar to truecolor imagery orders, you should check for cloud cover and ensure the capture date meets your needs.

Once your order processes you should be able to see the following options in the layer dropdown. If you want to edit what layers are available in your dropdown, you can always enroll or unenroll from layers in the Layer

  • Vegetation (High Resolution): This is derived from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and is ideal for monitoring forestry and photosynthetic activity.
  • Surface Water (High Resolution): This is derived from Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and is useful for tracking changes in open water bodies and flooding.
  • Surface Moisture (High Resolution): This is derived from Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and can help evaluate ground conditions and soil saturation.

Accessing your data

  • Viewing in Lens: Change the layer dropdown to Vegetation (High Resolution), Surface Water (High Resolution), or Surface Moisture (High Resolution). Then, open the date drop down to navigate to the capture date you’re looking for.
  • Analysis: Similar to analytic layers derived from NAIP, the Analysis tool is not currently enabled for this data. This is because of the limited data points over time and complexities of comparing across different satellite sensors. 
  • Downloads: Your GeoTIFF download will include all native bands. SPOT and Pléiades include Red, Green, Blue, and NIR (listed in order from Band 1 to Band 6). Neo includes Red, Green, Blue, NIR, Red Edge, and Deep Blue (listed in order from Band 1 to Band 6).