Lucky Sentinel-2 still can visit Italia, Spain and Portugal

That’s unfair ! Sentinel-2 is a lucky satellite who still can visit Spain, Italy or Portugal every 5th day, while we are locked at home. Thanks to the hard work and good organisation at ESA (for the Level-1 products) and CNES (for the advanced L2A and L3A products), I have been able to generate mosaics of Sentinel-2 products over these 3 countries, and I spent quite a lot of time dreaming of the places I should go to.

So to help you go through these difficult times, here are the winter animations of L2A Mosaics over the Iberian peninsula and Italia.

 

Copernicus Sentinel-2 level 3A products from Theia over Italy, from September 2019 to March 2020 (click to enlarge)

 

Copernicus Sentinel-2 level 3A products from Theia over Italy, from September 2019 to March 2020 (click to enlarge)

These products were generated with MAJA atmospheric correction and cloud screening processor and WASP, the weighted average synthesis processor. The level of artefacts is quite low, except for dates and regions when the cloud cover was high, such as Galicia in November. However, as it may be seen in Northern Italy, the directional correction model that we use in WASP to normalise for the varying observation angles should be improved when the sun is low.

Usually, in my publications on monthly syntheses, I also provide a tool to zoom to full resolution, select a couple of syntheses and compare them, as I do for instance for France. I will only be able to do it after the lockdown is loosened, as I do not have access to the visualization server from home. Anyway, you still can have access to the data on Theia distribution site, and download them tile by tile at full resolution.

 

 

Plus d'actualités

New clear-sky image of the Rasuwa rock-ice avalanche

On 08 Sep 2026, Sentinel-2 acquired a clear-sky image near the release area of the landslide which caused the catastrophic flood in Nepal. Using this image and a pre-event digital elevation model (Berthier 2026) we can analyze the upper part of the avalanche runout profile. The block of rock and ice was released near 5120 […]

How long is the cooling effect of a cloud shadow ?

How long does it take for the cannon barrel to cool down after firing a shell ? Fernand Raynaud => This quote is from a famous old French funny sketch by Fernand Raynaud, which was based on a question in a French manual for soldiers: the sketch is rather long, so I’ll give you the […]

Impact of the August 12, 2026 eclipse on photovoltaic electricity generation in Spain

Photovoltaic (PV) energy supplies more 20% of Spain’s total electricity, and this share hit a new high in July 2026 (28.3% of the nation’s monthly electricity mix). Some media outlets were concerned about the drop in photovoltaic power generation during the 12-Aug-2026 eclipse. Le Monde explained that « the drop is expected to be particularly pronounced […]

Rechercher