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A colourful patchwork of agricultural fields is pictured in this radar image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1 over southeastern Romania.<\/p>\n
Although satellites carrying optical, or \u2018camera-like\u2019, instruments are often used to map crop types from space, radar satellites also offer a valuable source of information for crop classification and growth patterns to help assess health and productivity.<\/p>\n
Sentinel-1\u2019s radar is instrumental in monitoring changes in land cover, providing critical insights for regions with intensive agriculture, as shown here.<\/p>\n
This image combines three radar acquisitions taken at different times to show changes in crop development and land conditions.<\/p>\n
Radar images are naturally black and white, but here each image has been assigned a colour: blue for the first image from 28 October 2024, green for the second from 9 November, and red for the third from 21 November. When the images are overlapped to obtain a single composite, the resulting colours highlight the various crop types and stages of growth.<\/p>\n
In radar images, built-up areas like cities and towns are visible in grey or white, while bodies of water appear in black.<\/p>\n
The Danube \u2013 the longest river in the EU \u2013 can be seen as a black, winding line in the right of the image. The city of Br\u0103ila, capital of the county and Romania\u2019s second largest port, is visible in white next to the river at the top of the image.<\/p>\n
Flowing northward, the Danube splits here into smaller channels that form two main islands. The bigger, Great Br\u0103ila Island, is mainly covered by agricultural fields, whose geometrical shapes are clear to see. The smaller island, Small Br\u0103ila Island, is visible in light blue and hosts the\u00a0Balta Mic\u0103 a Br\u0103ilei Natural Park, a protected wetland area of international importance.<\/p>\n
Providing all-weather, day-and-night radar imagery for the global monitoring of Earth\u2019s land and oceans, the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission supports a\u00a0diverse range of applications, such as environmental management, disaster response and climate change research.<\/p>\n
After Sentinel-1B\u2019s working life ended\u00a0in 2022, the\u00a0upcoming launch\u00a0of Sentinel-1C will restore the mission to its full strength as a two-satellite constellation. Once in orbit, Sentinel-1C will not only continue the mission\u2019s legacy, but, notably, will also introduce enhanced capabilities for monitoring maritime traffic, further expanding the mission\u2019s utility.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n