Sentinel-1 is a spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging system and mission from the European Space Agency and the European Commission. The mission launched and began collecting imagery in 2014. The Sentinel-1 RTC data in this collection is an analysis ready product derived from the Ground Range Detected (GRD) Level-1 products produced by ESA. Radiometric Terrain Correction (RTC) accounts for terrain variations that affect both the position of a given point on the Earth"s surface and the brightness of the radar return. With the ability to see through cloud and smoke cover, and because it does not rely on solar illumination of the Earth"s surface, Sentinel-1 is able to collect useful imagery in most weather conditions, during both day and night. This data is good for wide range of land and maritime applications, from mapping floods, to deforestation, to oil spills, and more. Key Properties Geographic Coverage: Global - approximately 80° North to 80° SouthTemporal Coverage: 10/10/2014 – PresentSpatial Resolution: 10 x 10 meterRevisit Time*: ~6-daysProduct Type: Ground Range Detected (GRD)Product Level: Radiometrically terrain corrected (RTC) and analysis readyFrequency Band: C-bandInstrument Mode: Interferometric Wide Swath Mode (IW)Source Data Coordinate System: Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) WGS84Service Coordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere WGS84 (EPSG:3857)Analysis: Optimized for analysisBands/Polarizations: BandPolarizationDescriptionPixel Spacing (m)1VV: vertical transmit, vertical receiveTerrain-corrected gamma naught values of signal transmitted with vertical polarization and received with vertical polarization with radiometric terrain correction applied.102VH: vertical transmit, horizontal receiveTerrain-corrected gamma naught values of signal transmitted with vertical polarization and received with horizontal polarization with radiometric terrain correction applied.10 Usage Information and Best Practices Processing TemplatesThis layer includes a number of preconfigured processing templates (raster function templates) to provide on-the-fly data rendering and calculations for visualization and analysis. Each processing template includes labels and descriptions to characterize the intended usage. This may include for visualization, for analysis, or for both visualization and analysis.Below is a list of available processing templates:NameDescriptionSentinel-1 RGB dB with DRARGB color composite of VV,VH,VV-VH in dB scale with a dynamic stretch applied for visualization onlySentinel-1 RGB dBRGB color composite of VV,VH,VV-VH in dB scale for visualization and some numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VV PowerVV data in Power scale for numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VH PowerVH data in Power scale for numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VV AmplitudeVV data in Amplitude scale for numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VH AmplitudeVH data in Amplitude scale for numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VV dBVV data in dB scale for visualization and some numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VV dB with DRAVV data in dB scale with a dynamic stretch applied for visualization onlySentinel-1 RTC VH dBVH data in dB scale for visualization and some numerical analysisSentinel-1 RTC VH dB with DRAVH data in dB scale with a dynamic stretch applied for visualization only VisualizationThe default rendering is False Color (VV, VH, VV-VH) in dB scale for Visualization.There are a number of on-the-fly renderings/processing templates designed specifically for data visualization.By default, the most recent scenes from the Sentinel-1 archive are prioritized and dynamically fused into a single mosaicked image layer. To discover and isolate specific images for visualization in Map Viewer, try using the Image Collection Explorer. AnalysisIn order to leverage the optimization for analysis, the capability must be enabled by you ArcGIS organization administrator. More information on enabling this feature can be found in the ‘Regional data hosting’ section of this help doc.Optimized for analysis means this layer does not have size constraints for analysis and it is recommended for multisource analysis with other layers optimized for analysis. See this group for a complete list of imagery layers optimized for analysis.Using the "None" processing template option as input to analysis provides all bands with raw pixel values and is recommended for many use cases. Otherwise, only processing templates that include a "for analysis" designation should be used as input to analysis.The appropriate scale factors are dynamically applied to the imagery in this layer, providing scientific floating point Surface Reflectance pixel values.Prior to running analysis, users should always provide some form of data selection with either a layer filter (e.g. for a specific date range, cloud cover percent, mission, etc.) or by selecting specific images. To discover and isolate specific images for analysis in Map Viewer, try using the Image Collection Explorer. ApplicationsThe RTC product can be used for a wide range of applications, including:Land cover classification such as forests, wetlands, water bodies, urban areas, and agricultural landChange detection such as deforestation and urban growthNatural hazard monitoring such as floodsOceanography such as oil spill monitoring and ship detection GeneralIf you are new to Sentinel-1 imagery, the Sentinel-1 Explorer provides a good introductory user experience for working with this imagery layer. For more information, see this Quick Start Guide or this Detailed Tutorial.Prior to Dec 23, 2021, the mission included two satellites, Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B. On Dec 23, 2021, Sentinel-1B experienced a power anomaly resulting in permanent loss of data transmission. In January 2025, Sentinel-1C replaced Sentinel-1B and returned to the mission to full collection capacity. Data SourceSentinel-1 imagery is credited to the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission. The imagery in this layer is sourced from the Microsoft Planetary Computer Open Data Catalog.

About the dataSentinel-1 is a spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging system and mission from the European Space Agency and the European Commission. The mission launched and began collecting imagery in 2014.The Sentinel-1 RTC data in this collection is an analysis ready product derived from the Ground Range Detected (GRD) Level-1 products produced by the European Space Agency. Radiometric Terrain Correction (RTC) accounts for terrain variations that affect both the position of a given point on the Earth's surface and the brightness of the radar return.With the ability to see through cloud and smoke cover, and because it does not rely on solar illumination of the Earth's surface, Sentinel-1 is able to collect useful imagery in most weather conditions, during both day and night. This data is good for wide range of land and maritime applications, from mapping floods, to deforestation, to oil spills, and more.About the appSentinel-1 imagery helps to track and document land use and land change associated with climate change, urbanization, drought, wildfire, deforestation, and other natural processes and human activity.Through an intuitive user experience, this app leverages a variety of ArcGIS capabilities to explore and begin to unlock the wealth of information that Sentinel-1 provides. Some of the key capabilities include:Visual exploration of a dynamic global mosaic of the latest available scenes.On-the-fly band/polarization combinations and indices for visualization and analysis.Interactive Find a Scene by location, time, and orbit direction.Visual change by time and renderings with Swipe and Animation modes.Analysis such as threshold masking and temporal profiles for vegetation, water, land surface temperature, and more.