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Release Notes#

February 2024, Annual 2023 Map for Good Released#

Esri, Microsoft and Imapct Observatory have released the 2023 Annual Land Cover Map for Good as an open dataset. The data are available for free from the IO Store, clipped to just your Area of Interest (AOI). With a subscription to ArcGIS Image Dedicated Services you can transfer maps from the IO Store to ArcGIS Online.

You can also access the data from our partners [Esri Living Atlas], Microsoft's [Planetary Computer] and the [AWS Open Data Registry]. Note this dataset is sometimes called the "Esri Land Cover" by other providers.

November 2023, IO Store Version v1.3#

New Features#

New Product Highlight: 3m Land Cover product available for purchase

  • Land cover maps at 3 meter resolution are now available for purchase from our business team. Monitor a growing range of land cover types for near-real-time insights into industrial, agricultural, and population patterns, leveraging world-leading PlanetScope and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Sign up for our beta program, or reach out to hello@impactobservatory.com to inquire about an order for your custom area of interest.

  • Historic Annual Maps for Good available for free download from IO Monitor. Now you can download our open data, clipped just to your area of interest, in seconds. Check it out today!

IO Monitor 10m Land Cover Maps v1.4#

  • New Land Cover Classes: Active and Inactive Crops. Our previous release contained a single "Crops" class. Now all maps contain two crops classes: "Active Crops" and "Inactive Crops." Active crops are defined as, "actively growing crops, irrigated pastures, and other vegetation actively managed by humans." Inactive crops are defined as, "Fallow or otherwise inactive fields, sometimes mixed with small infrastructure in close proximity of active crops." We have seen interest in this for agriculture monitoring.

  • Our latest data uses an updated taxonomy for the range of values. Raster values now range from 0 - 255, rather than 0 - 16, to accomodate the expanding list of land cover classes that we plan to add in the future. New raster values are outlined on our 10m Land Cover maps documentation page.

July 2023, IO Store Version v1.2#

New Features#

Highlight: Early Access available for Sub-Annual 14 Class Land Cover Maps

  • Sub-annual maps are available using 120-day date ranges to enable sufficient Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Selecting specific dates throughout the year can optimize results for a sub-annual map.

The IO model uses spectral and spatial information in satellite images to make LULC classifications. The presence of foliage in those images can help the model distinguish between different types of LULC, but in many parts of the world, vegetation waxes and wanes over the course of the year. When making a sub-annual map, choosing the time of year when foliage is most prominent yields the best result. These dates are automatically determined and recommended for sub-annual maps in the IO Store.

Other New Features#

  • Once an order is complete, data is available for preview and for download from a Download Manager webpage
  • Download Manager contains multiple options to download or transfer data to the desired location. Options for download include a zip file with all output or individual file downloads for GeoTIFFs and PNGs
  • Commands are provided for cloud-to-cloud transfers from IO Monitor to an Amazon AWS Bucket or Microsoft Azure Container
  • IO Monitor GeoTIFFs can be directly transferred into an ArcGIS Online Account with a license to Esri Image Dedicated

Bug Fixes#

  • IO Monitor - All maps have a sub-pixel alignment correction with Sentinel-2 grid.

IO Monitor 10m Land Cover Maps v1.3#

New Product Offering: IO Monitor Maps now contain 14 Land Cover Classes

Read the Press Release

IO Maps for Public Good Version 1.2#

IO Maps for Public Good updated with improvements in overall class stability from year to year. Available through the Esri Living Atlas.

Read the Press Release

April 2023, IO Store Version v1.1#

New Features#

  • Area of Interest (AOI) search expanded to global locations.
  • User can optionally use a draw tool on the map to create a custom AOI.

February 2023, IO Store Version v1.0#

  • 9 Class Land Cover maps available for puchase on-demand over a custom location between 2 and 10,000 square kilometers.