Geographic Information System (GIS) Software Market Outlook

According to our latest research, the global Geographic Information System (GIS) Software market size reached USD 11.6 billion in 2024, reflecting a robust demand for spatial data analytics and location-based services across various industries. The market is experiencing a significant growth trajectory, driven by a CAGR of 12.4% from 2025 to 2033. By the end of 2033, the GIS Software market is forecasted to attain a value of USD 33.5 billion. This remarkable expansion is primarily attributed to the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, IoT, and cloud computing, which are enhancing the capabilities and accessibility of GIS platforms.

One of the major growth factors propelling the GIS Software market is the increasing adoption of location-based services across urban planning, transportation, and utilities management. Governments and private organizations are leveraging GIS solutions to optimize infrastructure development, streamline resource allocation, and improve emergency response times. The proliferation of smart city initiatives worldwide has further fueled the demand for GIS tools, as urban planners and municipal authorities require accurate spatial data for effective decision-making. Additionally, the evolution of 3D GIS and real-time mapping technologies is enabling more sophisticated modeling and simulation, expanding the scope of GIS applications beyond traditional mapping to include predictive analytics and scenario planning.

Another significant driver for the GIS Software market is the rapid digitization of industries such as agriculture, mining, and oil & gas. Precision agriculture, for example, relies heavily on GIS platforms to monitor crop health, manage irrigation, and enhance yield forecasting. Similarly, the mining sector uses GIS for exploration, environmental impact assessment, and asset management. The integration of remote sensing data with GIS software is providing stakeholders with actionable insights, leading to higher efficiency and reduced operational risks. Furthermore, the growing emphasis on environmental sustainability and regulatory compliance is prompting organizations to invest in advanced GIS solutions for monitoring land use, tracking deforestation, and managing natural resources.

The expanding use of cloud-based GIS solutions is also a key factor driving market growth. Cloud deployment offers scalability, cost-effectiveness, and remote accessibility, making GIS tools more accessible to small and medium enterprises as well as large organizations. The cloud model supports real-time data sharing and collaboration, which is particularly valuable for disaster management and emergency response teams. As organizations increasingly prioritize digital transformation, the demand for cloud-native GIS platforms is expected to rise, supported by advancements in data security, interoperability, and integration with other enterprise systems.

Regionally, North America remains the largest market for GIS Software, accounting for a significant share of global revenues. This leadership is underpinned by substantial investments in smart infrastructure, advanced transportation systems, and environmental monitoring programs. The Asia Pacific region, however, is witnessing the fastest growth, driven by rapid urbanization, government-led digital initiatives, and the expansion of the utility and agriculture sectors. Europe continues to demonstrate steady adoption, particularly in environmental management and urban planning, while Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are emerging as promising markets due to increasing investments in infrastructure and resource management.

Component Analysis

The GIS Software market is segmented by component into Software and Services, each playing a pivotal role in the overall value chain. The software segment includes comprehensive GIS platforms, spatial analytics tools, and specialized applications

ESYS plc and the Department of Geomatic Engineering at University College London (UCL) have been funded by the British National Space Centre (BNSC) to develop a web GIS service to serve geographic data derived from remote sensing datasets. Funding was provided as part of the BNSC International Co-operation Programme 2 (ICP-2).

Particular aims of the project were to:

1. use Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC, recently renamed from the OpenGIS Consortium) technologies for map and data serving;

2. serve datasets for Europe and Africa, particularly Landsat TM and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) data;

3. provide a website giving access to the served data;

4. provide software scripts, etc., and a document reporting the data processing and software set-up methods developed during the project.

ICEDS was inspired in particular by the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS) CEOS Landsat and SRTM Project (CLASP) proposal. An express intention of ICEDS (aim 4 in the list above) was therefore that the solution developed by ESYS and UCL should be redistributable, for example, to other CEOS members. This was taken to mean not only software scripts but also the methods developed by the project team to prepare the data and set up the server. In order to be compatible with aim 4, it was also felt that the use of Open Source, or at least 'free-of-cost' software for the Web GIS serving was an essential component. After an initial survey of the Web GIS packages available at the time , the ICEDS team decided to use the Deegree package, a free software initiative founded by the GIS and Remote Sensing unit of the Department of Geography, University of Bonn , and lat/lon . However the Red Spider web mapping software suite was also provided by IONIC Software - this is a commercial web mapping package but was provided pro bono by IONIC for this project and has been used in parallel to investigate the possibilities and limitations opened up by using a commercial package.

http://iceds.ge.ucl.ac.uk/

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GIS In Utility Industry Market Size 2025-2029

The gis in utility industry market size is forecast to increase by USD 3.55 billion, at a CAGR of 19.8% between 2024 and 2029.

The utility industry's growing adoption of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is driven by the increasing need for efficient and effective infrastructure management. GIS solutions enable utility companies to visualize, analyze, and manage their assets and networks more effectively, leading to improved operational efficiency and customer service. A notable trend in this market is the expanding application of GIS for water management, as utilities seek to optimize water distribution and reduce non-revenue water losses. However, the utility GIS market faces challenges from open-source GIS software, which can offer cost-effective alternatives to proprietary solutions. These open-source options may limit the functionality and support available to users, necessitating careful consideration when choosing a GIS solution. To capitalize on market opportunities and navigate these challenges, utility companies must assess their specific needs and evaluate the trade-offs between cost, functionality, and support when selecting a GIS provider. Effective strategic planning and operational execution will be crucial for success in this dynamic market.

What will be the Size of the GIS In Utility Industry Market during the forecast period?

Explore in-depth regional segment analysis with market size data - historical 2019-2023 and forecasts 2025-2029 - in the full report.
Request Free SampleThe Global Utilities Industry Market for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) continues to evolve, driven by the increasing demand for advanced data management and analysis solutions. GIS services play a crucial role in utility infrastructure management, enabling asset management, data integration, project management, demand forecasting, data modeling, data analytics, grid modernization, data security, field data capture, outage management, and spatial analysis. These applications are not static but rather continuously unfolding, with new patterns emerging in areas such as energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, renewable energy integration, network optimization, and transmission lines. Spatial statistics, data privacy, geospatial databases, and remote sensing are integral components of this evolving landscape, ensuring the effective management of utility infrastructure. Moreover, the adoption of mobile GIS, infrastructure planning, customer service, asset lifecycle management, metering systems, regulatory compliance, GIS data management, route planning, environmental impact assessment, mapping software, GIS consulting, GIS training, smart metering, workforce management, location intelligence, aerial imagery, construction management, data visualization, operations and maintenance, GIS implementation, and IoT sensors is transforming the industry. The integration of these technologies and services facilitates efficient utility infrastructure management, enhancing network performance, improving customer service, and ensuring regulatory compliance. The ongoing evolution of the utilities industry market for GIS reflects the dynamic nature of the sector, with continuous innovation and adaptation to meet the changing needs of utility providers and consumers.

How is this GIS In Utility Industry Industry segmented?

The gis in utility industry industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD million' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments. ProductSoftwareDataServicesDeploymentOn-premisesCloudGeographyNorth AmericaUSCanadaEuropeFranceGermanyRussiaMiddle East and AfricaUAEAPACChinaIndiaJapanSouth AmericaBrazilRest of World (ROW).

By Product Insights

The software segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.In the utility industry, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a pivotal role in optimizing operations and managing infrastructure. Utilities, including electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications providers, utilize GIS software for asset management, infrastructure planning, network performance monitoring, and informed decision-making. The GIS software segment in the utility industry encompasses various solutions, starting with fundamental GIS software that manages and analyzes geographical data. Additionally, utility companies leverage specialized software for field data collection, energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, distribution grid design, renewable energy integration, network optimization, transmission lines, spatial statistics, data privacy, geospatial databases, GIS services, project management, demand forecasting, data modeling, data analytics, grid modernization, data security, field data capture, outage ma

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GIS Market Size 2025-2029

The GIS market size is forecast to increase by USD 24.07 billion, at a CAGR of 20.3% between 2024 and 2029.

The Global Geographic Information System (GIS) market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and GIS technologies. This convergence enables more effective spatial analysis and decision-making in various industries, particularly in soil and water management. However, the market faces challenges, including the lack of comprehensive planning and preparation leading to implementation failures of GIS solutions. Companies must address these challenges by investing in thorough project planning and collaboration between GIS and BIM teams to ensure successful implementation and maximize the potential benefits of these advanced technologies.
By focusing on strategic planning and effective implementation, organizations can capitalize on the opportunities presented by the growing adoption of GIS and BIM technologies, ultimately driving operational efficiency and innovation.

What will be the Size of the GIS Market during the forecast period?

Explore in-depth regional segment analysis with market size data - historical 2019-2023 and forecasts 2025-2029 - in the full report.
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The global Geographic Information Systems (GIS) market continues to evolve, driven by the increasing demand for advanced spatial data analysis and management solutions. GIS technology is finding applications across various sectors, including natural resource management, urban planning, and infrastructure management. The integration of Bing Maps, terrain analysis, vector data, Lidar data, and Geographic Information Systems enables precise spatial data analysis and modeling. Hydrological modeling, spatial statistics, spatial indexing, and route optimization are essential components of GIS, providing valuable insights for sectors such as public safety, transportation planning, and precision agriculture. Location-based services and data visualization further enhance the utility of GIS, enabling real-time mapping and spatial analysis.

The ongoing development of OGC standards, spatial data infrastructure, and mapping APIs continues to expand the capabilities of GIS, making it an indispensable tool for managing and analyzing geospatial data. The continuous unfolding of market activities and evolving patterns in the market reflect the dynamic nature of this technology and its applications.

How is this GIS Industry segmented?

The GIS industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD million' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Product

  Software
  Data
  Services


Type

  Telematics and navigation
  Mapping
  Surveying
  Location-based services


Device

  Desktop
  Mobile


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    France
    Germany
    UK


  Middle East and Africa

    UAE


  APAC

    China
    Japan
    South Korea


  South America

    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By Product Insights

The software segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

The Global Geographic Information System (GIS) market encompasses a range of applications and technologies, including raster data, urban planning, geospatial data, geocoding APIs, GIS services, routing APIs, aerial photography, satellite imagery, GIS software, geospatial analytics, public safety, field data collection, transportation planning, precision agriculture, OGC standards, location intelligence, remote sensing, asset management, network analysis, spatial analysis, infrastructure management, spatial data standards, disaster management, environmental monitoring, spatial modeling, coordinate systems, spatial overlay, real-time mapping, mapping APIs, spatial join, mapping applications, smart cities, spatial data infrastructure, map projections, spatial databases, natural resource management, Bing Maps, terrain analysis, vector data, Lidar data, and geographic information systems.

The software segment includes desktop, mobile, cloud, and server solutions. Open-source GIS software, with its industry-specific offerings, poses a challenge to the market, while the adoption of cloud-based GIS software represents an emerging trend. However, the lack of standardization and interoperability issues hinder the widespread adoption of cloud-based solutions. Applications in sectors like public safety, transportation planning, and precision agriculture are driving market growth. Additionally, advancements in technologies like remote sensing, spatial modeling, and real-time mapping are expanding the market's scope.

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The Software segment was valued at USD 5.06 billion in 2019

What is SEPAL?

SEPAL (https://sepal.io/) is a free and open source cloud computing platform for geo-spatial data access and processing. It empowers users to quickly process large amounts of data on their computer or mobile device. Users can create custom analysis ready data using freely available satellite imagery, generate and improve land use maps, analyze time series, run change detection and perform accuracy assessment and area estimation, among many other functionalities in the platform. Data can be created and analyzed for any place on Earth using SEPAL.

https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog/dataset/9c4d7c45-7620-44c4-b653-fbe13eb34b65/resource/63a3efa0-08ab-4ad6-9d4a-96af7b6a99ec/download/cambodia_mosaic_2020.png" alt="alt text" title="Figure 1: Best pixel mosaic of Landsat 8 data for 2020 over Cambodia">

Figure 1: Best pixel mosaic of Landsat 8 data for 2020 over Cambodia

SEPAL reaches over 5000 users in 180 countries for the creation of custom data products from freely available satellite data. SEPAL was developed as a part of the Open Foris suite, a set of free and open source software platforms and tools that facilitate flexible and efficient data collection, analysis and reporting. SEPAL combines and integrates modern geospatial data infrastructures and supercomputing power available through Google Earth Engine and Amazon Web Services with powerful open-source data processing software, such as R, ORFEO, GDAL, Python and Jupiter Notebooks. Users can easily access the archive of satellite imagery from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) as well as high spatial and temporal resolution data from Planet Labs and turn such images into data that can be used for reporting and better decision making.

National Forest Monitoring Systems in many countries have been strengthened by SEPAL, which provides technical government staff with computing resources and cutting edge technology to accurately map and monitor their forests. The platform was originally developed for monitoring forest carbon stock and stock changes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). The application of the tools on the platform now reach far beyond forest monitoring by providing different stakeholders access to cloud based image processing tools, remote sensing and machine learning for any application. Presently, users work on SEPAL for various applications related to land monitoring, land cover/use, land productivity, ecological zoning, ecosystem restoration monitoring, forest monitoring, near real time alerts for forest disturbances and fire, flood mapping, mapping impact of disasters, peatland rewetting status, and many others.

The Hand-in-Hand initiative enables countries that generate data through SEPAL to disseminate their data widely through the platform and to combine their data with the numerous other datasets available through Hand-in-Hand.

https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog/dataset/9c4d7c45-7620-44c4-b653-fbe13eb34b65/resource/868e59da-47b9-4736-93a9-f8d83f5731aa/download/probability_classification_over_zambia.png" alt="alt text" title="Figure 2: Image classification module for land monitoring and mapping. Probability classification over Zambia">

Figure 2: Image classification module for land monitoring and mapping. Probability classification over Zambia

EarthExplorerUse the USGS EarthExplorer (EE) to search, download, and order satellite images, aerial photographs, and cartographic products. In addition to data from the Landsat missions and a variety of other data providers, EE provides access to MODIS land data products from the NASA Terra and Aqua missions, and ASTER level-1B data products over the U.S. and Territories from the NASA ASTER mission. Registered users of EE have access to more features than guest users.Earth Explorer Distribution DownloadThe EarthExplorer user interface is an online search, discovery, and ordering tool developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). EarthExplorer supports the searching of satellite, aircraft, and other remote sensing inventories through interactive and textual-based query capabilities. Through the interface, users can identify search areas, datasets, and display metadata, browse and integrated visual services within the interface.The distributable version of EarthExplorer provides the basic software to provide this functionality. Users are responsible for verification of system recommendations for hosting the application on your own servers. By default, this version of our code is not hooked up to a data source so you will have to integrate the interface with your data. Integration options include service-based API's, databases, and anything else that stores data. To integrate with a data source simply replace the contents of the 'getDataset' and 'search' functions in the CWIC.php file.Distribution is being provided due to users requests for the codebase. The EarthExplorer source code is provided "As Is", without a warranty or support of any kind. The software is in the public domain; it is available to any government or private institution.The software code base is managed through the USGS Configuration Management Board. The software is managed through an automated configuration management tool that updates the code base when new major releases have been thoroughly reviewed and tested.Link: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/

Context and Aim

Deep learning in Earth Observation requires large image archives with highly reliable labels for model training and testing. However, a preferable quality standard for forest applications in Europe has not yet been determined. The TreeSatAI consortium investigated numerous sources for annotated datasets as an alternative to manually labeled training datasets.

We found the federal forest inventory of Lower Saxony, Germany represents an unseen treasure of annotated samples for training data generation. The respective 20-cm Color-infrared (CIR) imagery, which is used for forestry management through visual interpretation, constitutes an excellent baseline for deep learning tasks such as image segmentation and classification.

Description

The data archive is highly suitable for benchmarking as it represents the real-world data situation of many German forest management services. One the one hand, it has a high number of samples which are supported by the high-resolution aerial imagery. On the other hand, this data archive presents challenges, including class label imbalances between the different forest stand types.

The TreeSatAI Benchmark Archive contains:

• 50,381 image triplets (aerial, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2)

• synchronized time steps and locations

• all original spectral bands/polarizations from the sensors

• 20 species classes (single labels)

• 12 age classes (single labels)

• 15 genus classes (multi labels)

• 60 m and 200 m patches

• fixed split for train (90%) and test (10%) data

• additional single labels such as English species name, genus, forest stand type, foliage type, land cover

The geoTIFF and GeoJSON files are readable in any GIS software, such as QGIS. For further information, we refer to the PDF document in the archive and publications in the reference section.

Version history

v1.0.0 - First release

Citation

Ahlswede et al. (in prep.)

GitHub

Full code examples and pre-trained models from the dataset article (Ahlswede et al. 2022) using the TreeSatAI Benchmark Archive are published on the GitHub repositories of the Remote Sensing Image Analysis (RSiM) Group (https://git.tu-berlin.de/rsim/treesat_benchmark). Code examples for the sampling strategy can be made available by Christian Schulz via email request.

Folder structure

We refer to the proposed folder structure in the PDF file.

• Folder “aerial” contains the aerial imagery patches derived from summertime orthophotos of the years 2011 to 2020. Patches are available in 60 x 60 m (304 x 304 pixels). Band order is near-infrared, red, green, and blue. Spatial resolution is 20 cm.

• Folder “s1” contains the Sentinel-1 imagery patches derived from summertime mosaics of the years 2015 to 2020. Patches are available in 60 x 60 m (6 x 6 pixels) and 200 x 200 m (20 x 20 pixels). Band order is VV, VH, and VV/VH ratio. Spatial resolution is 10 m.

• Folder “s2” contains the Sentinel-2 imagery patches derived from summertime mosaics of the years 2015 to 2020. Patches are available in 60 x 60 m (6 x 6 pixels) and 200 x 200 m (20 x 20 pixels). Band order is B02, B03, B04, B08, B05, B06, B07, B8A, B11, B12, B01, and B09. Spatial resolution is 10 m.

• The folder “labels” contains a JSON string which was used for multi-labeling of the training patches. Code example of an image sample with respective proportions of 94% for Abies and 6% for Larix is: "Abies_alba_3_834_WEFL_NLF.tif": [["Abies", 0.93771], ["Larix", 0.06229]]

• The two files “test_filesnames.lst” and “train_filenames.lst” define the filenames used for train (90%) and test (10%) split. We refer to this fixed split for better reproducibility and comparability.

• The folder “geojson” contains geoJSON files with all the samples chosen for the derivation of training patch generation (point, 60 m bounding box, 200 m bounding box).

CAUTION: As we could not upload the aerial patches as a single zip file on Zenodo, you need to download the 20 single species files (aerial_60m_…zip) separately. Then, unzip them into a folder named “aerial” with a subfolder named “60m”. This structure is recommended for better reproducibility and comparability to the experimental results of Ahlswede et al. (2022),

Join the archive

Model training, benchmarking, algorithm development… many applications are possible! Feel free to add samples from other regions in Europe or even worldwide. Additional remote sensing data from Lidar, UAVs or aerial imagery from different time steps are very welcome. This helps the research community in development of better deep learning and machine learning models for forest applications. You might have questions or want to share code/results/publications using that archive? Feel free to contact the authors.

Project description

This work was part of the project TreeSatAI (Artificial Intelligence with Satellite data and Multi-Source Geodata for Monitoring of Trees at Infrastructures, Nature Conservation Sites and Forests). Its overall aim is the development of AI methods for the monitoring of forests and woody features on a local, regional and global scale. Based on freely available geodata from different sources (e.g., remote sensing, administration maps, and social media), prototypes will be developed for the deep learning-based extraction and classification of tree- and tree stand features. These prototypes deal with real cases from the monitoring of managed forests, nature conservation and infrastructures. The development of the resulting services by three enterprises (liveEO, Vision Impulse and LUP Potsdam) will be supported by three research institutes (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, TU Remote Sensing Image Analysis Group, TUB Geoinformation in Environmental Planning Lab).

Publications

Ahlswede et al. (2022, in prep.): TreeSatAI Dataset Publication

Ahlswede S., Nimisha, T.M., and Demir, B. (2022, in revision): Embedded Self-Enhancement Maps for Weakly Supervised Tree Species Mapping in Remote Sensing Images. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens

Schulz et al. (2022, in prep.): Phenoprofiling

Conference contributions

S. Ahlswede, N. T. Madam, C. Schulz, B. Kleinschmit and B. Demіr, "Weakly Supervised Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images for Tree Species Classification Based on Explanation Methods", IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2022.

C. Schulz, M. Förster, S. Vulova, T. Gränzig and B. Kleinschmit, “Exploring the temporal fingerprints of mid-European forest types from Sentinel-1 RVI and Sentinel-2 NDVI time series”, IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2022.

C. Schulz, M. Förster, S. Vulova and B. Kleinschmit, “The temporal fingerprints of common European forest types from SAR and optical remote sensing data”, AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, USA, 2021.

B. Kleinschmit, M. Förster, C. Schulz, F. Arias, B. Demir, S. Ahlswede, A. K. Aksoy, T. Ha Minh, J. Hees, C. Gava, P. Helber, B. Bischke, P. Habelitz, A. Frick, R. Klinke, S. Gey, D. Seidel, S. Przywarra, R. Zondag and B. Odermatt, “Artificial Intelligence with Satellite data and Multi-Source Geodata for Monitoring of Trees and Forests”, Living Planet Symposium, Bonn, Germany, 2022.

C. Schulz, M. Förster, S. Vulova, T. Gränzig and B. Kleinschmit, (2022, submitted): “Exploring the temporal fingerprints of sixteen mid-European forest types from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series”, ForestSAT, Berlin, Germany, 2022.

Abstract: Predicted monthly forest cover dataset in a spatial resolution of 1 x 1 km based on MODIS and AVHRR datasets. For predicting the retrospective forest cover values the STARFM algorithm was utilized in a Python environment. All available months are packed into one .zip file which can be (i) downloaded and (ii) extracted using free and open standard software (e.g. 7-zip).

Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station Launching System Market Outlook

According to our latest research, the global Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station Launching System market size reached USD 4.12 billion in 2024, driven by the rapid expansion of satellite launches and the growing demand for real-time earth observation data. The market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR of 8.7% from 2025 to 2033, reaching a projected value of USD 8.89 billion by 2033. This impressive growth trajectory is primarily fueled by technological advancements in ground station automation, the proliferation of small and nano-satellites, and the increasing integration of artificial intelligence in satellite data processing.

The primary growth factor propelling the Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station Launching System market is the escalating need for high-resolution, real-time earth observation data across various sectors. Governments and commercial entities are increasingly relying on satellite-based remote sensing for applications such as environmental monitoring, natural disaster management, and urban planning. The integration of advanced hardware and software solutions in ground stations has significantly enhanced data acquisition, processing, and dissemination capabilities. Furthermore, the emergence of cloud-based ground station services has made it more feasible for small and medium enterprises to access and utilize satellite data, thus democratizing the market and opening new avenues for growth.

Another significant driver is the surge in satellite launches, particularly from private aerospace companies and emerging space nations. The miniaturization of satellite technology and the reduction in launch costs have led to an exponential increase in the number of satellites being deployed for remote sensing purposes. This, in turn, has necessitated the development of more sophisticated and scalable ground station launching systems capable of handling large volumes of data and ensuring seamless communication between satellites and ground infrastructure. The adoption of Software-Defined Ground Stations (SDGS) and the use of artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance and data analytics are further enhancing operational efficiencies and reducing downtime.

Additionally, the growing emphasis on defense and intelligence applications is contributing to the expansion of the Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station Launching System market. National security agencies and defense organizations are investing heavily in advanced ground station infrastructure to support surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence-gathering missions. The integration of secure communication protocols, high-speed data links, and real-time data processing capabilities is becoming a standard requirement for modern ground stations. Moreover, collaborative initiatives between governments, research institutes, and commercial players are fostering innovation and accelerating the development of next-generation ground station technologies.

From a regional perspective, North America currently dominates the global market, accounting for the largest share due to its well-established space infrastructure and significant investments from both government and private sectors. Europe follows closely, driven by robust research activities and increasing satellite launches by the European Space Agency and private companies. The Asia Pacific region is witnessing the fastest growth, fueled by the rapidly expanding space programs in China and India, as well as rising investments in satellite-based applications for agriculture, disaster management, and urban development. The Middle East & Africa and Latin America are also emerging as promising markets, supported by growing government initiatives and international collaborations aimed at enhancing satellite data accessibility and utilization.

Component Analysis

The Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station Launching System market is segmented by component into hardware, software, and services

This dataset contains information on the Surface Soil Moisture (SM) content derived from satellite observations in the microwave domain.

Dataset paper (public preprint)

A description of this dataset, including the methodology and validation results, is available at:

Preimesberger, W., Stradiotti, P., and Dorigo, W.: ESA CCI Soil Moisture GAPFILLED: An independent global gap-free satellite climate data record with uncertainty estimates, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-610, in review, 2025.

Abstract

ESA CCI Soil Moisture is a multi-satellite climate data record that consists of harmonized, daily observations coming from 19 satellites (as of v09.1) operating in the microwave domain. The wealth of satellite information, particularly over the last decade, facilitates the creation of a data record with the highest possible data consistency and coverage.
However, data gaps are still found in the record. This is particularly notable in earlier periods when a limited number of satellites were in operation, but can also arise from various retrieval issues, such as frozen soils, dense vegetation, and radio frequency interference (RFI). These data gaps present a challenge for many users, as they have the potential to obscure relevant events within a study area or are incompatible with (machine learning) software that often relies on gap-free inputs.
Since the requirement of a gap-free ESA CCI SM product was identified, various studies have demonstrated the suitability of different statistical methods to achieve this goal. A fundamental feature of such gap-filling method is to rely only on the original observational record, without need for ancillary variable or model-based information. Due to the intrinsic challenge, there was until present no global, long-term univariate gap-filled product available. In this version of the record, data gaps due to missing satellite overpasses and invalid measurements are filled using the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) Penalized Least Squares (PLS) algorithm (Garcia, 2010). A linear interpolation is applied over periods of (potentially) frozen soils with little to no variability in (frozen) soil moisture content. Uncertainty estimates are based on models calibrated in experiments to fill satellite-like gaps introduced to GLDAS Noah reanalysis soil moisture (Rodell et al., 2004), and consider the gap size and local vegetation conditions as parameters that affect the gapfilling performance.

Summary

• Gap-filled global estimates of volumetric surface soil moisture from 1991-2023 at 0.25° sampling
• Fields of application (partial): climate variability and change, land-atmosphere interactions, global biogeochemical cycles and ecology, hydrological and land surface modelling, drought applications, and meteorology
• Method: Modified version of DCT-PLS (Garcia, 2010) interpolation/smoothing algorithm, linear interpolation over periods of frozen soils. Uncertainty estimates are provided for all data points.
• More information: See Preimesberger et al. (2025) and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8320869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESA CCI SM Algorithm Theoretical Baseline Document [Chapter 7.2.9] (Dorigo et al., 2023)

Programmatic Download

You can use command line tools such as wget or curl to download (and extract) data for multiple years. The following command will download and extract the complete data set to the local directory ~/Download on Linux or macOS systems.

#!/bin/bash

# Set download directory
DOWNLOAD_DIR=~/Downloads

base_url="https://researchdata.tuwien.at/records/3fcxr-cde10/files"

# Loop through years 1991 to 2023 and download & extract data
for year in {1991..2023}; do
  echo "Downloading $year.zip..."
  wget -q -P "$DOWNLOAD_DIR" "$base_url/$year.zip"
  unzip -o "$DOWNLOAD_DIR/$year.zip" -d $DOWNLOAD_DIR
  rm "$DOWNLOAD_DIR/$year.zip"
done

Data details

The dataset provides global daily estimates for the 1991-2023 period at 0.25° (~25 km) horizontal grid resolution. Daily images are grouped by year (YYYY), each subdirectory containing one netCDF image file for a specific day (DD), month (MM) in a 2-dimensional (longitude, latitude) grid system (CRS: WGS84). The file name has the following convention:

ESACCI-SOILMOISTURE-L3S-SSMV-COMBINED_GAPFILLED-YYYYMMDD000000-fv09.1r1.nc

Data Variables

Each netCDF file contains 3 coordinate variables (WGS84 longitude, latitude and time stamp), as well as the following data variables:

• sm: (float) The Soil Moisture variable reflects estimates of daily average volumetric soil moisture content (m3/m3) in the soil surface layer (~0-5 cm) over a whole grid cell (0.25 degree).
• sm_uncertainty: (float) The Soil Moisture Uncertainty variable reflects the uncertainty (random error) of the original satellite observations and of the predictions used to fill observation data gaps.
• sm_anomaly: Soil moisture anomalies (reference period 1991-2020) derived from the gap-filled values (`sm`)
• sm_smoothed: Contains DCT-PLS predictions used to fill data gaps in the original soil moisture field. These values are also provided for cases where an observation was initially available (compare `gapmask`). In this case, they provided a smoothed version of the original data.
• gapmask: (0 | 1) Indicates grid cells where a satellite observation is available (1), and where the interpolated (smoothed) values are used instead (0) in the 'sm' field.
• frozenmask: (0 | 1) Indicates grid cells where ERA5 soil temperature is <0 °C. In this case, a linear interpolation over time is applied.

Additional information for each variable is given in the netCDF attributes.

Version Changelog

Changes in v9.1r1 (previous version was v09.1):

• This version uses a novel uncertainty estimation scheme as described in Preimesberger et al. (2025).

Software to open netCDF files

These data can be read by any software that supports Climate and Forecast (CF) conform metadata standards for netCDF files, such as:

• https://github.com/pydata/xarray" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xarray (python)
• https://unidata.github.io/netcdf4-python/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">netCDF4 (python)
• https://github.com/TUW-GEO/esa_cci_sm">esa_cci_sm (python)
• Similar tools exists for other programming languages (Matlab, R, etc.)
• Software packages and GIS tools can open netCDF files, e.g. CDO, NCO, QGIS, ArCGIS
• You can also use the GUI software Panoply to view the contents of each file

References

• Preimesberger, W., Stradiotti, P., and Dorigo, W.: ESA CCI Soil Moisture GAPFILLED: An independent global gap-free satellite climate data record with uncertainty estimates, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-610, in review, 2025.
• Dorigo, W., Preimesberger, W., Stradiotti, P., Kidd, R., van der Schalie, R., van der Vliet, M., Rodriguez-Fernandez, N., Madelon, R., & Baghdadi, N. (2023). ESA Climate Change Initiative Plus - Soil Moisture Algorithm Theoretical Baseline Document (ATBD) Supporting Product Version 08.1 (version 1.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8320869
• Garcia, D., 2010. Robust smoothing of gridded data in one and higher dimensions with missing values. Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 54(4), pp.1167-1178. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csda.2009.09.020
• Rodell, M., Houser, P. R., Jambor, U., Gottschalck, J., Mitchell, K., Meng, C.-J., Arsenault, K., Cosgrove, B., Radakovich, J., Bosilovich, M., Entin, J. K., Walker, J. P., Lohmann, D., and Toll, D.: The Global Land Data Assimilation System, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 85, 381 – 394, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-85-3-381, 2004.

Related Records

The following records are all part of the Soil Moisture Climate Data Records from satellites community

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The program supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, including the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008), which requires information about the distribution of ecosystems as part of the design and proposal process for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas. A focus of CSMP is to map California’s State Waters with consistent methods at a consistent scale. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data (the undersea equivalent of satellite remote-sensing data in terrestrial mapping), acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. It is emphasized that the more interpretive habitat and geology data rely on the integration of multiple, new high-resolution datasets and that mapping at small scales would not be possible without such data. This approach and CSMP planning is based in part on recommendations of the Marine Mapping Planning Workshop (Kvitek and others, 2006), attended by coastal and marine managers and scientists from around the state. That workshop established geographic priorities for a coastal mapping project and identified the need for coverage of “lands” from the shore strand line (defined as Mean Higher High Water; MHHW) out to the 3-nautical-mile (5.6-km) limit of California’s State Waters. Unfortunately, surveying the zone from MHHW out to 10-m water depth is not consistently possible using ship-based surveying methods, owing to sea state (for example, waves, wind, or currents), kelp coverage, and shallow rock outcrops. Accordingly, some of the data presented in this series commonly do not cover the zone from the shore out to 10-m depth. This data is part of a series of online U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publications, each of which includes several map sheets, some explanatory text, and a descriptive pamphlet. Each map sheet is published as a PDF file. Geographic information system (GIS) files that contain both ESRI ArcGIS raster grids (for example, bathymetry, seafloor character) and geotiffs (for example, shaded relief) are also included for each publication. For those who do not own the full suite of ESRI GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using ESRI ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html (last accessed September 20, 2013). The California Seafloor Mapping Program is a collaborative venture between numerous different federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector. CSMP partners include the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Geological Survey, California State University at Monterey Bay’s Seafloor Mapping Lab, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Center for Habitat Studies, Fugro Pelagos, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, including National Ocean Service–Office of Coast Surveys, National Marine Sanctuaries, and National Marine Fisheries Service), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. These web services for the Offshore of Point Conception map area includes data layers that are associated to GIS and map sheets available from the USGS CSMP web page at https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/mapping/csmp/index.html. Each published CSMP map area includes a data catalog of geographic information system (GIS) files; map sheets that contain explanatory text; and an associated descriptive pamphlet. This web service represents the available data layers for this map area. Data was combined from different sonar surveys to generate a comprehensive high-resolution bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter coverage of the map area. These data reveal a range of physiographic including exposed bedrock outcrops, large fields of sand waves, as well as many human impacts on the seafloor. To validate geological and biological interpretations of the sonar data, the U.S. Geological Survey towed a camera sled over specific offshore locations, collecting both video and photographic imagery; these “ground-truth” surveying data are available from the CSMP Video and Photograph Portal at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7J1015K. The “seafloor character” data layer shows classifications of the seafloor on the basis of depth, slope, rugosity (ruggedness), and backscatter intensity and which is further informed by the ground-truth-survey imagery. The “potential habitats” polygons are delineated on the basis of substrate type, geomorphology, seafloor process, or other attributes that may provide a habitat for a specific species or assemblage of organisms. Representative seismic-reflection profile data from the map area is also include and provides information on the subsurface stratigraphy and structure of the map area. The distribution and thickness of young sediment (deposited over the past about 21,000 years, during the most recent sea-level rise) is interpreted on the basis of the seismic-reflection data. The geologic polygons merge onshore geologic mapping (compiled from existing maps by the California Geological Survey) and new offshore geologic mapping that is based on integration of high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter imagery seafloor-sediment and rock samplesdigital camera and video imagery, and high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles. The information provided by the map sheets, pamphlet, and data catalog has a broad range of applications. High-resolution bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, ground-truth-surveying imagery, and habitat mapping all contribute to habitat characterization and ecosystem-based management by providing essential data for delineation of marine protected areas and ecosystem restoration. Many of the maps provide high-resolution baselines that will be critical for monitoring environmental change associated with climate change, coastal development, or other forcings. High-resolution bathymetry is a critical component for modeling coastal flooding caused by storms and tsunamis, as well as inundation associated with longer term sea-level rise. Seismic-reflection and bathymetric data help characterize earthquake and tsunami sources, critical for natural-hazard assessments of coastal zones. Information on sediment distribution and thickness is essential to the understanding of local and regional sediment transport, as well as the development of regional sediment-management plans. In addition, siting of any new offshore infrastructure (for example, pipelines, cables, or renewable-energy facilities) will depend on high-resolution mapping. Finally, this mapping will both stimulate and enable new scientific research and also raise public awareness of, and education about, coastal environments and issues. Web services were created using an ArcGIS service definition file. The ArcGIS REST service and OGC WMS service include all Offshore of Point Conception map area data layers. Data layers are symbolized as shown on the associated map sheets.

Global Nanosatellite And Microsatellite Market size is set to expand from $ 2.96 Billion in 2023 to $ 9.52 Billion by 2032, with an anticipated CAGR of around 13.86% from 2024 to 2032.

The global geospatial imagery analytics market size was valued USD 104.02 billion in 2023 and is expected to expand to USD 1300.47 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 32.40%.

Snapshot img

Satellite-Based Earth Observation Market Size 2025-2029

The satellite-based earth observation market size is forecast to increase by USD 9.66 billion, at a CAGR of 12% between 2024 and 2029. The market is experiencing significant growth, driven primarily by the increasing demand for advanced environment monitoring.

Major Market Trends & Insights

North America dominated the market and accounted for a 43% share in 2023.
The market is expected to grow significantly in APAC region as well over the forecast period.
Based on Application, the defense segment led the market and was valued at USD 4.28 billion of the global revenue in 2023.
Based on Type, the value-added Services (VAS) segment accounted for the largest market revenue share in 2023.

Market Size & Forecast

2024 Market Size: USD 12.64 Billion
Future Opportunities: USD 9.66 Billion
CAGR (2024-2029): 12%
North America: Largest market in 2023

The market continues to evolve, driven by advancements in remote sensing technology and the increasing demand for accurate and timely geospatial data across various sectors. From infrastructure development to environmental monitoring, earth observation data plays a crucial role in sectors such as urban planning, resource management, and disaster management. Satellite imagery, with its high temporal and spectral resolution, enables effective monitoring of land cover changes, weather patterns, and natural disasters. Geospatial software and remote sensing tools facilitate data fusion, allowing for more comprehensive analysis and data integration. Government agencies, military applications, commercial businesses, and research institutions all rely on earth observation data for intelligence gathering, border surveillance, and precision agriculture.

What will be the Size of the Satellite-Based Earth Observation Market during the forecast period?

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Big data and data services have emerged as key players in the market, offering data subscriptions, data analytics platforms, and data visualization tools. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are transforming the industry, enabling advanced image interpretation and data processing capabilities. Hyperspectral imagery and data licensing are also gaining traction, providing more detailed information on land use and carbon monitoring. Emergency response and climate change are among the latest applications of earth observation data, highlighting the market's continuous dynamism. The future of the market lies in cloud computing, spatial analysis, and data integration, as the industry continues to unfold and evolve.

This need is fueled by various factors, including climate change mitigation, natural disaster management, and agricultural productivity enhancement. Another key trend in the market is the rising preference for small satellites due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment. However, the market faces challenges as well. Competition from alternate technologies, such as drones and airborne sensors, poses a significant threat to the market's growth. The weather segment of application is the second largest segment and was valued at USD 2.73 billion in 2023.

Additionally, the high cost of satellite manufacturing and launching continues to be a significant barrier to entry for new players. To capitalize on the market opportunities and navigate these challenges effectively, companies must focus on innovation, cost reduction, and strategic partnerships. By investing in advanced technologies and collaborating with industry leaders, they can differentiate themselves and stay competitive in the evolving market landscape.

How is this Satellite-Based Earth Observation Industry segmented?

The satellite-based earth observation industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD million' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Application

  Defense
  Weather
  Location-Based Services (LBS)
  Energy
  Others


Type

  Value-Added Services (VAS)
  Data


Technology

  Synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
  Optical


End-User

  Government
  Commercial
  Academic/Research


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    Germany
    Russia
    UK


  Middle East and Africa

    UAE


  APAC

    China
    Japan
    South Korea


  South America

    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By Application Insights

The defense segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The segment was valued at USD 4.28 billion in 2023. It continued to the largest segment at a CAGR of 9.06%.

The market encompasses various applications, including crop monitoring, weather forecasting, disaster management, resource management, and defense and security. Crop monitoring leverages multispect

Accurate geo-referencing information is a basic requirement for combining remote satellite imagery with other geographic information. To detect changes in time-series satellite images, it is extremely important for the images to be precisely co-registered and orthorectified, so that images acquired from different sensors and dates can be compared directly. Precise registration relates satellite images to the ground reference based on carefully selected ground control points between the image and corresponding ground objects. Co-registration matches two images based on the tie points in the images. The topographical variations of the earth’s surface and the satellite view zenith angle affect the pixel’s distance projected onto the satellite image. The distortion inherent in the image is determined by topographical elevation. The orthorectification process is used to correct the pixel displacement caused by the topographical variations at the off-nadir viewing and to make the image orthographic, with every pixel in its correct location regardless of elevation and viewing direction. The automated registration and orthorectification package (AROP) uses precisely registered and orthorectified Landsat data (e.g., GeoCover or recently released free Landsat Level 1T data from the USGS EROS data center) as the base image to co-register, orthorectify and reproject (if needs) the warp images from other data sources, and thus make geo-referenced time-series images consistent in the geographic extent, spatial resolution, and projection. The co-registration, orthorectification and reprojection processes were integrated and thus image is only resampled once. This package has been tested on the Landsat Multi-spectral Scanner (MSS), TM, Enhanced TM Plus (ETM+) and Operational Land Imager (OLI), Terra ASTER, CBERS CCD, IRS-P6 AWiFS, and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data. The development of the AROP package was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat Science Team project and the NASA EOS project. The package was initially developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center by Dr. Feng Gao (from September 2005 to June 2011). Further improvement and continuous maintenance are now being undertaken in the Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by Dr. Feng Gao. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: AROP. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/software/download/?softwareid=326&modecode=80-42-05-10 download page

Abstract: Predicted monthly vegetation cover dataset in a spatial resolution of 1 x 1 km based on MODIS and AVHRR datasets. For predicting the retrospective vegetation cover classes the STARFM algorithm was utilized in a Python environment. All available months are packed into one .zip file which can be (i) downloaded and (ii) extracted using free and open standard software (e.g. 7-zip).

Overview:
The Copernicus DEM is a Digital Surface Model (DSM) which represents the surface of the Earth including buildings, infrastructure and vegetation. The original GLO-30 provides worldwide coverage at 30 meters (refers to 10 arc seconds). Note that ocean areas do not have tiles, there one can assume height values equal to zero. Data is provided as Cloud Optimized GeoTIFFs. Note that the vertical unit for measurement of elevation height is meters.

The Copernicus DEM for Europe at 100 meter resolution (EU-LAEA projection) in COG format has been derived from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30, mirrored on Open Data on AWS, dataset managed by Sinergise (https://registry.opendata.aws/copernicus-dem/).

Processing steps:
The original Copernicus GLO-30 DEM contains a relevant percentage of tiles with non-square pixels. We created a mosaic map in VRT format and defined within the VRT file the rule to apply cubic resampling while reading the data, i.e. importing them into GRASS GIS for further processing. We chose cubic instead of bilinear resampling since the height-width ratio of non-square pixels is up to 1:5. Hence, artefacts between adjacent tiles in rugged terrain could be minimized:

gdalbuildvrt -input_file_list list_geotiffs_MOOD.csv -r cubic -tr 0.000277777777777778 0.000277777777777778 Copernicus_DSM_30m_MOOD.vrt

In order to reproject the data to EU-LAEA projection while reducing the spatial resolution to 100 m, bilinear resampling was performed in GRASS GIS (using r.proj and the pixel values were scaled with 1000 (storing the pixels as Integer values) for data volume reduction. In addition, a hillshade raster map was derived from the resampled elevation map (using r.relief, GRASS GIS). Eventually, we exported the elevation and hillshade raster maps in Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) format, along with SLD and QML style files.

Projection + EPSG code:
ETRS89-extended / LAEA Europe (EPSG: 3035)

Spatial extent:
north: 6874000
south: -485000
west: 869000
east: 8712000

Spatial resolution:
100 m

Pixel values:
meters * 1000 (scaled to Integer; example: value 23220 = 23.220 m a.s.l.)

Software used:
GDAL 3.2.2 and GRASS GIS 8.0.0 (r.proj; r.relief)

Original dataset license:
https://spacedata.copernicus.eu/documents/20126/0/CSCDA_ESA_Mission-specific+Annex.pdf

Processed by:
mundialis GmbH & Co. KG, Germany (https://www.mundialis.de/)

Global smart water management market was valued at US$ 17.13 Billion in 2024 and is set to reach around US$ 46.73 Billion by 2034 at a CAGR of about 10.56% from 2025 to 2034.

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The program supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, including the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008), which requires information about the distribution of ecosystems as part of the design and proposal process for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas. A focus of CSMP is to map California’s State Waters with consistent methods at a consistent scale. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data (the undersea equivalent of satellite remote-sensing data in terrestrial mapping), acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. It is emphasized that the more interpretive habitat and geology data rely on the integration of multiple, new high-resolution datasets and that mapping at small scales would not be possible without such data. This approach and CSMP planning is based in part on recommendations of the Marine Mapping Planning Workshop (Kvitek and others, 2006), attended by coastal and marine managers and scientists from around the state. That workshop established geographic priorities for a coastal mapping project and identified the need for coverage of “lands” from the shore strand line (defined as Mean Higher High Water; MHHW) out to the 3-nautical-mile (5.6-km) limit of California’s State Waters. Unfortunately, surveying the zone from MHHW out to 10-m water depth is not consistently possible using ship-based surveying methods, owing to sea state (for example, waves, wind, or currents), kelp coverage, and shallow rock outcrops. Accordingly, some of the data presented in this series commonly do not cover the zone from the shore out to 10-m depth. This data is part of a series of online U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publications, each of which includes several map sheets, some explanatory text, and a descriptive pamphlet. Each map sheet is published as a PDF file. Geographic information system (GIS) files that contain both ESRI ArcGIS raster grids (for example, bathymetry, seafloor character) and geotiffs (for example, shaded relief) are also included for each publication. For those who do not own the full suite of ESRI GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using ESRI ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html (last accessed September 20, 2013). The California Seafloor Mapping Program is a collaborative venture between numerous different federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector. CSMP partners include the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Geological Survey, California State University at Monterey Bay’s Seafloor Mapping Lab, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Center for Habitat Studies, Fugro Pelagos, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, including National Ocean Service–Office of Coast Surveys, National Marine Sanctuaries, and National Marine Fisheries Service), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. These web services for the Offshore of Ventura map area includes data layers that are associated to GIS and map sheets available from the USGS CSMP web page at https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/mapping/csmp/index.html. Each published CSMP map area includes a data catalog of geographic information system (GIS) files; map sheets that contain explanatory text; and an associated descriptive pamphlet. This web service represents the available data layers for this map area. Data was combined from different sonar surveys to generate a comprehensive high-resolution bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter coverage of the map area. These data reveal a range of physiographic including exposed bedrock outcrops, large fields of sand waves, as well as many human impacts on the seafloor. To validate geological and biological interpretations of the sonar data, the U.S. Geological Survey towed a camera sled over specific offshore locations, collecting both video and photographic imagery; these “ground-truth” surveying data are available from the CSMP Video and Photograph Portal at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7J1015K. The “seafloor character” data layer shows classifications of the seafloor on the basis of depth, slope, rugosity (ruggedness), and backscatter intensity and which is further informed by the ground-truth-survey imagery. The “potential habitats” polygons are delineated on the basis of substrate type, geomorphology, seafloor process, or other attributes that may provide a habitat for a specific species or assemblage of organisms. Representative seismic-reflection profile data from the map area is also include and provides information on the subsurface stratigraphy and structure of the map area. The distribution and thickness of young sediment (deposited over the past about 21,000 years, during the most recent sea-level rise) is interpreted on the basis of the seismic-reflection data. The geologic polygons merge onshore geologic mapping (compiled from existing maps by the California Geological Survey) and new offshore geologic mapping that is based on integration of high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter imagery seafloor-sediment and rock samplesdigital camera and video imagery, and high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles. The information provided by the map sheets, pamphlet, and data catalog has a broad range of applications. High-resolution bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, ground-truth-surveying imagery, and habitat mapping all contribute to habitat characterization and ecosystem-based management by providing essential data for delineation of marine protected areas and ecosystem restoration. Many of the maps provide high-resolution baselines that will be critical for monitoring environmental change associated with climate change, coastal development, or other forcings. High-resolution bathymetry is a critical component for modeling coastal flooding caused by storms and tsunamis, as well as inundation associated with longer term sea-level rise. Seismic-reflection and bathymetric data help characterize earthquake and tsunami sources, critical for natural-hazard assessments of coastal zones. Information on sediment distribution and thickness is essential to the understanding of local and regional sediment transport, as well as the development of regional sediment-management plans. In addition, siting of any new offshore infrastructure (for example, pipelines, cables, or renewable-energy facilities) will depend on high-resolution mapping. Finally, this mapping will both stimulate and enable new scientific research and also raise public awareness of, and education about, coastal environments and issues. Web services were created using an ArcGIS service definition file. The ArcGIS REST service and OGC WMS service include all Offshore of Ventura map area data layers. Data layers are symbolized as shown on the associated map sheets.

The Hyperspectral camera Specim IQ measures relative reflectances for 512x512 pixels in 204 bands in a wavelength range from 400 nm to 1000 nm. Within the field of view, there was a white reference placed so that the reflectances can be compared to other datasets. During the MOSAiC expedition, the camera was installed at the remote sensing site on the ice. It was looking at the snow and ice, taking an image every 30 minutes for periods in April 2020 and July 2020. Each data record is a folder (compressed as one file) readable by the Specim IQ software, which is downloadable free of charge from the manufacturer (Specim) after registration. This dataset is from an experimental setup to explore the use of spatially resolved hyperspectral imaging of Arctic sea ice.