SPOT Analysis-Ready Data (ARD) enables users to analyse and extract information from the satellite dataset, alleviating the burden associated with data pre-processing. The analysis-ready dataset is standardised, harmonised, interoperable, radiometrically consistent (BRDF corrected, geometrically consistent, and conforms to the Committee of Earth Observing Satellites Analysis Ready Data for land (CARD4L) specification, allowing for efficient and effective data analysis.
Video 1: - Indicating changing Theewaterskloof dam extend over 15 years using ARD SPOT image and NDWI
SPOT (Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre) satellites have provided medium to high-resolution data useful for various thematic applications since 1980s. SPOT 2 – 7 provide data of varying resolutions and spectral bands with irregular acquisition time steps (see Table 1). Therefore, the SPOT ARD provided by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) provide data that is standardized, harmonized, interoperable, radiometrically (BRDF corrected) and geometrically consistent and pre-processed to reduce the burden of data pre-processing to allow immediate analysis and efficient exploitation of the data. The ARD data products are :
Satellite | Bands | Spatial Resolution | Launched | Decommissioned |
SPOT 2 | Pan, G, R, NIR | Pan (10m); MS (20m) | 22 January 1990 | July 2009 |
SPOT 3 | Pan, G, R, NIR | Pan (10m); MS (20m) | 26 September 1993 | 14 November 1997 |
SPOT 4 | Pan, G, R, NIR | Pan (10m); MS (20m) | 24 March 1998 | July 2013 |
SPOT 5 | Pan, G, R, NIR, SWIR | Pan (2.5 – 5m); MS (10 – 20m) | 4 May 2002 | March 2015 |
SPOT 6/7 | Pan, B, G, R, NIR | Pan (1.5m); MS (6m) | 9 September 2012 / 30 June 2014 | Operational |