Spatial and Spectral Resolutions
The surface area measured on the ground and represented by an individual pixel, is termed as the spatial resolution. For SENTINEL-2, there are three possible spatial resolutions (see table below).
Spectral resolution is defined as a measure of the ability of the instrument to distinguish features in the electromagnetic spectrum. SENTINEL-2 spectral resolutions (Bandwidth) are provided in the table below.
NOTE: The Bandwidth (nm) is measured at Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM).
Spatial Resolution (m) |
Band Number | S2A | S2B | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Wavelength (nm) |
Bandwidth (nm) |
Central Wavelength (nm) |
Bandwidth (nm) |
||
10 | 2 | 492.4 | 66 | 492.1 | 66 |
3 | 559.8 | 36 | 559.0 | 36 | |
4 | 664.6 | 31 | 664.9 | 31 | |
8 | 832.8 | 106 | 832.9 | 106 | |
20 | 5 | 704.1 | 15 | 703.8 | 16 |
6 | 740.5 | 15 | 739.1 | 15 | |
7 | 782.8 | 20 | 779.7 | 20 | |
8a | 864.7 | 21 | 864.0 | 22 | |
11 | 1613.7 | 91 | 1610.4 | 94 | |
12 | 2202.4 | 175 | 2185.7 | 185 | |
60 | 1 | 442.7 | 21 | 442.2 | 21 |
9 | 945.1 | 20 | 943.2 | 21 | |
10 | 1373.5 | 31 | 1376.9 | 30 |
Radiometric Resolution
Radiometric resolution is a measure of the ability of an imaging system to record different levels of brightness or tone. The radiometric resolution of SENTINEL-2 is 12-bit. This gives a potential range of brightness levels from 0 - 4095.
Note:
More information on Spatial and Radiometric Resolutions used in SENTINEL-2 Mission.
Temporal Resolution
Temporal resolution is the amount of time, expressed in days, that elapses before a satellite revisits a particular point on the Earth's surface. The satellites in the SENTINEL-2 constellation will provide a revisit time of 10 days at the equator with one satellite, and 5 days with 2 satellites under cloud-free conditions.
Swath Width
The swath width of SENTINEL-2 is 290 km. In comparison, the swath width of Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+ is 185 km, and the swath width of SPOT-5 is 120 km.