Using Sentinel-2 Views in ArcPro

[crispinHambidge]

A question about Sentinel-2 Views on the Living Atlas. I can't for the life of me work out how to filter by a specific date in ArcPro. At the moment whatever date expression I enter it seems to just return the most recent relatively non-cloudy image. Has anyone else had experience with Sentinel-2 Views?

[KoryKramer]

Maybe somebody in the Imagery and Remote Sensing‌ space could help?

[RobertWaterman · Accepted solution]

There is a default definition query on the layer which, as described, shows the most recent and most cloud free imagery available.  You can remove the definition query in order to access the full 14 month rolling archive.

In Pro:

1. Right click on the Sentinel-2 Views layer and select properties
2. From the properties dialogue select Definition Query
3. Click on the red 'X' to remove Definition Query 1 and then click OK.

[WillAnderson]

Note all the most recent ~2 days of imagery never is available in either Sentinel-2 Views or Sentinel-2 Level-2A services (even when removing all def queries/filters and for a tile with confirmed acquisition date), as far as I can make out. If anyone has figured out a way to access, I'd love to know how.

[CAEPMAN]

I just checked the currency of the Sentinel-2 Level-2A data I loaded from Living Atlas in to an ArcPro project I am working on today (16 Aug 2023). With no definition query set, the data displayed matches the L2A data collected on 14 Aug 2023. The attached Sentinel2_L2A_14Aug2023.jpg shows 14 Aug 2023 data viewed through https://dataspace.copernicus.eu (top panel) and the Sentinel-2 Level-2A data loaded from Living Atlas (no defQ set) viewed in an ArcPro project. Notice the cloud cover matches in the two panels, confirming the data collected 14 Aug 2023 is available in the Living Atlas dataset two days later on 16 Aug 2023.

If a definition query is set for the Sentinel layer that is based on cloud cover (or some other attribute), most recently collected tiles may not display if they have levels of cloud cover that exceed that specified in the DefQ.

For the exent I am working in today, the Sentinel imagery collected on 27 Jul 2023 has much less cloud cover compared to the imagery collected 14 Aug 2023. To display the 27 Jul 2023 scene I specified a DefQ (using the calendar picker) where AcquisitionDate is after 25 Jul 2023 and AcquisitionDate is before 30Jul 2023 (see Sentinel2_L2A_specificDateRange.jpg attached). I could probably narrow this window down, but what I used gave me access to what I needed.

[WillAnderson]

Thanks, CAEPMAN. I still can’t get day-after or same-day imagery via the Living Atlas service the way I am able to access it (via Copernicus or AWS download process, usually within 5 hours of acquisition(. Our agricultural users need it the day after for harvest and related decisons. Two days is too long to wait, unfortunately.

[CAEPMAN]

I'm wondering if the explanation for what you are experiencing is related to the two different platforms for Sentinel-2, namely S2A and S2B. There is some time between when one platform collects imagery for an area and when the other platform passes to collect that same area. On the Copernicus site, (Sentinel-2 - Missions - Resolution and Swath - Sentinel Handbook - Sentinel Online (copernicus.eu)) it reports, "Temporal resolution is the amount of time, expressed in days, that elapses before a satellite revisits a particular point on the Earth's surface. The satellites in the SENTINEL-2 constellation will provide a revisit time of 10 days at the equator with one satellite, and 5 days with 2 satellites under cloud-free conditions."

Do we know which platform (S2A or S2B) is being used to load data to the Sentinel services available on Living Atlas (Sentinel-2 Views and Sentinel-2 Level-2A)? Is it one, or the other, or both? I don't see that info reported.

To explore this idea, I checked the Copernicus site and verified an extent I am working in has S2A data with low cloud coverage that was collected on 25 Jul 2023, and in the same extent, there is S2B data with low cloud on 27 Jul 2023.

If I setup a DefQ "AcqusitionDate after 25 Jul 2023 and AcquisitionDate before 30 Jul 2023" on Sentinel-2 Level-2A service and I get data displayed for an extent I am working in (same data shown on the Copernicus site for the S2B platform on 27 Jul 2023). If I do the same query on Sentinel-2 Views service, I get no data displayed.

Next, I setup a DefQ on Sentinel-2 Level-2A service with a narrower window ("AcqusitionDate after 26 Jul 2023 and AcquisitionDate before 28 Jul 2023" and the same data is displayed as that on the Copernicus site for S2B on 27 Jul 2023.  On Sentinel-2 Views service I edited the query to "AcqusitionDate after 24 Jul 2023 and AcquisitionDate before 26 Jul 2023"). The data that is displayed matches that on the Copernicus site for S2A on 25 Jul 2023.

You may want to look at both the Sentinel-2 Level-2A and Sentinel-2 Views services to see if either one may have the data you are looking for.

[WillAnderson]

Thank you, but yes I'm aware of the differences between the two services and no luck either one. Question - have you ever been able to view/load imagery taken the day prior, for any AOI? I'm aware sometimes we can load 2-day-old imagery, but I need same or next day (available via AWS and Copernicus, and Sentinel-Hub EO Browser, usually about 4-5 hours after acquisition, but not in Esri's Sentinel services for two days, as far as I can tell).

[CAEPMAN]

The temporal scales I typically work with don't require such a narrow, one day window. I have noticed when new imagery has been loaded from one day to the next in the ESRI Sentinel services, but I can't comment on how long this happened following the data being available on the Copernicus sites. I will try to watch for this over the next few days and will comment here if I notice anything helpful.

Not sure if you are aware of the new browser available through Copernicus ( https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/browser/ )... something you may find useful. I believe it was created for Copernicus by Synergise (maker of EO Browser, and similar to that resource). The new browser has some improved utility, including ability to search by platform and view the full resolution result. This may help you address the issue you are trying to resolve.