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Sentinel-2

Sentinel-2 is one of the most useful open optical satellite missions for environmental GIS. Its Multispectral Instrument records 13 bands from visible wavelengths through near-infrared and short-wave infrared.

The core band resolutions are:

  • 10 m: blue, green, red and broad near-infrared
  • 20 m: red-edge and short-wave infrared bands plus a narrow NIR band
  • 60 m: atmospheric/aerosol/water-vapour/cirrus bands

This makes Sentinel-2 far more than a medium-resolution photograph.

Useful taiao applications​

  • vegetation and restoration monitoring
  • forestry harvest/recovery
  • wetland and water-edge change
  • sediment/plume screening
  • flood mapping when cloud permits
  • burn/vegetation moisture indicators
  • seasonal land-cover comparison

Access​

Use the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem for current Sentinel discovery/download/services. For a quick national context layer, LINZ also publishes annual 10 m Sentinel-2 mosaics as part of its imagery programme.

Level-2A is a practical default​

For land analysis, atmospherically corrected surface-reflectance products are generally easier to compare than top-of-atmosphere products. Always check product level, acquisition date, cloud mask and processing baseline in the metadata.

False colour​

Near-infrared and short-wave infrared combinations can make vegetation, moisture or burn effects more visible than RGB. Document the band combination in the map legend/caption so readers know it is not natural colour.

Resolution limits​

A 10 m pixel covers 100 m². It can show broad vegetation or water patterns but will not reliably locate a small pā feature, individual house or narrow track.

For high-resolution surface context use LINZ aerial imagery; for terrain use LiDAR and elevation.

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026

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