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Thematic Areas

Instruments carried aboard the Copernicus Sentinel satellites focus on different aspects of the Earth System.

thematic area icons

The Sentinel missions provide a unique set of observations for the Copernicus programme, starting with the all-weather, day and night radar images from Sentinel-1, which are used for land and ocean services.

Sentinel-2 delivers high-resolution optical images for land services and Sentinel-3 provides data for services relevant to the ocean and land. Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 will provide data for atmospheric composition monitoring from geostationary and polar orbits, respectively. The Sentinel-5 Precursor also measures the atmosphere, and was launched to provide data continuity between the end of the Envisat mission in 2012 and the future launch of Sentinel-4 and 5.

The applications fall into six main categories: services for land management, services for the marine environment, services relating to the atmosphere, services to aid emergency response, services associated with security and services relating to climate change.

List of thematic areas

Atmospheric Monitoring
Atmospheric Monitoring

Monitoring the quality and condition of our planet's atmosphere is important in that it helps us to understand how we may be affected, and is an essential tool in forecasting weather events.

Security
Security

Surveillance and security can be difficult to manage from the ground. Observations from space can make monitoring borders and sea routes much easier, and track developing situations.

Marine Monitoring
Marine Monitoring

Information on the state and dynamics of the ocean and coastal zones can be used to help protect and manage the marine environment and resources more effectively, as well as ensure safety at sea and monitor pollution from oil spills and other events.

Emergency
Managing Emergency

When an emergency occurs, satellite data can prove essential in forming a response. Historical data can provide perspective on a situation, while current data can help to analyse and manage the emergency.

Climate Change
Climate Change

Satellites are a vital tool in monitoring our world's changing climate, providing wide-scale views of affected areas and contributing to growing archives of data for use in long-term studies.

Land Monitoring
Land Monitoring

Monitoring the Earth's land is useful for many fields, particularly agriculture, forestry, topography, and land-cover and land-change studies. The data can be used to track current trends and predict future changes.