Posted on January 8th, 2019

DigitalGlobe EarthWatch – A Worldwide Imagery Solution – Focus on Africa

Do you have the need for regularly updated images of locations around the world?

Perhaps you need imagery to integrate with an OEM solution you are developing?

The available DigitalGlobe EarthWatch imagery over Africa by location and with the most recent coverage date indicated with varying colors. In the vast majority of locations, there are multiple imagery dates available.

Or maybe your organization uses large amounts of high-resolution imagery each year, and you are seeking a low-cost option for this data?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then the solution you are looking for is DigitalGlobe’s EarthWatch (formerly called Global Basemap or GBM).

With EarthWatch, you have access to millions of square kilometers of imagery with low cloud-cover and off-nadir angles. This data is accessible in streaming web-mapping services as well as through an online viewer. And perhaps the most important feature of EarthWatch is the regular updates you can receive as out-dated imagery is often of little or no use to our valued clients.

January 2019 Product Update

Last month we checked out the EarthWatch coverage over South America and for this month, we move across the Atlantic with a look at the EarthWatch coverage over Africa. As you will see in the map associated with this article, the current coverage over Africa is very extensive, particularly along the coasts and in southern Africa. Here is a breakdown of the EarthWatch coverage over Africa by year:

  • Africa EarthWatch Coverage By Year
    • Less than 1 year (yr) old – 22,054,606 sq km, 73.8% coverage of Africa
    • 1 to 2 yr old – 22,183,759 sq km, 74.3% coverage
    • 2 to 3 yr old – 23,101,832 sq km, 77.3% coverage
    • 3 to 4 yr old – 7,251,221 sq km, 24.3% coverage
    • 4 yr old and greater – 29,824,053 sq km, 99.3% coverage
    • Total coverage – 104,415,471 sq km
    • Total (approximate) area considered –29,875,960 sq km

EarthWatch Product Specifications

  • Accessible Geographic Regions: global (unless geo-fencing specifically requested by client)
  • Maximum Imagery Resolution: 50-centimeters through WMS and WCS; 30-cm for other delivery mechanisms
  • Data Sources: primary = WorldView-2/3/4 and GeoEye-1; secondary = QuickBird, IKONOS, WorldView-1 and aerial
  • Imagery Holdback Period For Updates: 90 day holdback for EarthWatch Standard; 2 day holdback for EarthWartch Premium; updates are to limited portions of the database, not the entire database
  • Data Accuracy: at least 8.5-meter CE90%
  • Database Access: OGC streaming services (i.e. WMS, WMST, WCS and WFS), Google Earth streaming services (i.e. EarthService), ArcGIS plugin (i.e. ImageConnect), offline database and online portal
  • Downloads & Streaming Limits: Standard = 4 gigabytes (GB) and up, annual license for downloads; Premium = 2 GB and up, perpetual license for downloads
  • Maximum Concurrent Users: unlimited!
  • Data Layers: Standard = standard image strips, +Vivid country-wide mosaics, and OSM and Google Maps vectors; Premium = standard, +Daily and First Look image strips, +Metro, +Vivid and Landsat mosaics, and OSM and Google Maps vectors
  • Pricing Model: Standard and Premium tiered annual pricing models with increasing download and streaming limits

For more information on the pricing and coverage available in DigitalGlobe’s EarthWatch, you can reach our sales team anytime at sales@apollomapping.com or during typical business hours at (303) 993-3863.

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