How to use Earth Observation Analysis Ready Data

{{DigitalResource DID YOU KNOW THAT THE SIMPLE ARD (ANALYSIS READY DATA) SERVICE CAN HELP YOU TO ACCESS AND USE HIGH-QUALITY SATELLITE DATA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS?
 * Type=Blog, Improved science
 * Resource=Blog introducing the Simple Analysis Ready Data Service for Earth Observation data provided by JNCC.
 * Link=https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/simple-ard-service/
 * Description=The Simple Analysis Ready Data Service provides access to ready to use Sentinel 1 and 2 satellite data.
 * Image=https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2015/04/scotland/15347281-1-eng-GB/Scotland_pillars.jpg
 * Blog====Introduction===

Earth Observation data
Satellite data has many environmental applications including mapping habitats and land cover, assessing natural capital, monitoring habitat condition and detecting change. Earth observation allows us to look at our environment in a completely new way because it can provide high resolution data over a large spatial extent with a high temporal frequency, meaning that there is new data for Scotland every 4 to 5 days.

Data from the Sentinel satellites managed by the European Space Agency is freely available, but the vast amounts of data need to be processed to make them ready for viewing and analysis. The Simple ARD Service provides access to analysis ready Sentinel-1 (radar) and Sentinel-2 (optical) data that are well suited to terrestrial environmental monitoring.

The Simple Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Service
The Simple ARD Service was set up by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee in 2020. It was commissioned by the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to support the use of satellite data for public sector environmental applications in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Processed data are stored and made accessible under an Open Government Licence via the CEDA Archive. The data can be accessed through the index pages or the CEDA Satellite Data Finder interactive map.

The Simple ARD Service data catalogue covers the period from February 2019 to the present. It is maintained on a rolling basis, with new data being processed the week after acquisition. The Simple ARD Service also helps partners in Scotland to develop operational applications for satellite data by providing cloud computing facilities and analytical support. Applications supported so far include use of satellite data for illegal waste detection, peatland management, crop mapping and monitoring the impact of wildfire and muirburn.

Help for users
There is lots of help to get started on the JNCC support page.

Useful Links Simple ARD service Support for users }}