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?

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 streamed imagery with low cloud-cover and off-nadir angles. This data is accessible in web-mapping services and in an online viewer. Perhaps the most important feature of EarthWatch are the regular streaming updates you can receive as out-dated imagery is often of little or no use to our valued clients.

And if the EarthWatch streaming database lacks the coverage you need, Premium users are now able to download any image from the entire DigitalGlobe archive (minus IKONOS data) in a wide variety of formats!

May 2019 Product Update

The available DigitalGlobe EarthWatch imagery over the Middle East 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.

Without question the biggest recent news about EarthWatch is the addition of direct data downloads (Premium users only) from the entire DigitalGlobe imagery archive (minus IKONOS)! This is an exciting change, particularly for clients looking for orders well below the typical minimum of 25 square kilometers for offline GeoTIFF deliveries. Send us an email at sales@apollomapping.com if you would like to find out more about this exciting new offering!

As for our normal monthly updates, last month we checked out the EarthWatch coverage over China and Russia and this month we head to a hotspot of geopolitics, the Middle East. And okay for a region with a ton of interest, the currency of the coverage can lack in the interior but many of these areas are unpopulated. So in the places where change is happening, EarthWatch has you covered as usual! Here is a more detailed summary of the coverage statistics:

• The Middle East EarthWatch Coverage By Year
  • Less than 1 year (yr) old – 4,095,854 sq km, 70.1% coverage of the Middle East
  • 1 to 2 yr old – 4,219,489 sq km, 60.3% coverage
  • 2 to 3 yr old – 5,180,481 sq km, 74.0% coverage
  • 3 to 4 yr old – 1,996,879 sq km, 28.5% coverage
  • 4 yr old and greater – 6,956,951 sq km, 99.4% coverage
  • Total coverage – 23,259,654 sq km
  • Total (approximate) area considered – 7,002,238 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/downloads and online portal
• Annual 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

EarthWatch Direct Archive Download Specifications

Premium EarthWatch users are able to download high-resolution satellite imagery from the entire DigitalGlobe archive in a variety of formats. Here are some details on this exciting offering:

• Available Data Sources: entire commercial archives of GeoEye-1, QuickBird and WorldView-1/2/3/4 (SWIR included too!)
• Annual Downloads Limits: 2 GB and up; metering combined with streaming usage
• Product License: internal use and perpetual
• Product Resolution: maximum resolution for each satellite
• Product Formats: all standard types are offered including, orthoready, stereo, basic, 4-band bundle, 8-band bundle, ACOMP on, etc.

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 American business hours at (303) 993-3863.