Business Wire

Esri Releases New App to Easily View and Analyze Global Land-Cover Changes

8.2.2023 16:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release

Share

Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) maps are an increasingly important tool for decision-makers at local, regional, and national government levels around the world. These maps help inform policy and land management decisions around issues like sustainability, by contextualizing and quantifying the impacts of earth processes and human activity on the environment.

Esri, the global leader in mapping and location intelligence, has now released a new online application, Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer. The app is structured around a web-based version of its own high-resolution global land-cover map, derived from European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. The app is easy to access and leverages the same geographic information system (GIS) technology behind the land-cover map. The app, map, and source Sentinel-2 imagery are all part of the company's ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

"GIS not only provides the capabilities necessary to produce and share data and maps such as LULC, it also enables users to derive and disseminate insights from such data," said Sean Breyer, Esri program manager for ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. "Generating this information is foundational, and Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer will be invaluable for helping decision-makers unlock critical insights about land use, particularly as sustainability becomes a pressing global concern."

Change analysis is fundamental to deeper understanding of LULC maps, and Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer provides various ways of detecting and reporting changes, including visual change analysis; statistical change analysis; visual change validation; and dynamic charts for percentage changes and trends over time. Other features offered by the app include the following:

  • Image services from ArcGIS Living Atlas
  • The ability to take data offline (download mode in the app)
  • Analysis tools in ArcGIS Online
  • ArcGIS developer tools and resources

In 2021, in partnership with Impact Observatory and Microsoft, Esri released the first artificial intelligence (AI)-generated global land-cover map. This subsequently evolved into the LULC annual time series map available today, which includes nine major land cover categories. Annual updates enable year-to-year comparisons for detecting shifts in vegetation and crops, forest extents, bare surfaces, and urban areas. With the recent addition of the 2022 update, the annual land cover time series now includes global coverage from 2017 through 2022.

Sentinel-2 Land Cover Explorer is a dynamic, ready-to-use application with an intuitive user experience. To explore the app online now, go to livingatlas.arcgis.com/landcoverexplorer.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Esri has partners and local distributors in over 100 countries on six continents, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.

Copyright © 2023 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, ArcGIS, The Science of Where, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Jo Ann Pruchniewski
Public Relations, Esri
Mobile: 301-693-2643
Email: jpruchniewski@esri.com

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

I-Pulse Signs Definitive Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $250 Million CHIPS R&D Award25.6.2026 21:53:00 EEST | Press release

I-Pulse Co-founders Robert Friedland, CEO, and Laurent Frescaline, CTO, announced today a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office for a $250 million award for the further development of I-Pulse’s proprietary semiconductor and pulsed power technology. “With today’s announced investment, the Trump administration is strengthening America’s capabilities and enhancing its national and energy security goals,” said Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick. Co-founder Robert Friedland said: “We are excited to partner with the U.S. government to advance our unique, American technology suite to benefit our great nation. This award supports the development of world-leading critical components in the pulsed power technology stack, with profound implications for energy security and national defense.” The CHIPS award strengthens U.S. supply chain resilience by boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reducing reliance on foreign-made se

Burjeel Holdings Prices First MENA Healthcare Sukuk Since 2018, 3.2x Oversubscribed25.6.2026 20:31:00 EEST | Press release

Burjeel Holdings, a leading super-specialty healthcare group in the GCC listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, priced its inaugural USD 500 million Regulation S 5-year senior unsecured Sukuk offering due 2031 under its newly established USD 1.5 billion Senior Unsecured Sukuk Programme. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260625449702/en/ Burjeel Holdings’ inaugural Sukuk was priced at a 7.000 % profit rate and a yield of 7.125% (Photo: AETOSWire) The offering attracted significant demand from high-quality international and regional investors, with the orderbook peaking at USD 1.6 billion, representing 3.2x oversubscription. The strength of the orderbook enabled Burjeel to tighten pricing from initial price thoughts in the mid-7% area, with the Sukuk priced at a 7.000% profit rate and a yield of 7.125%, representing the lowest 5-year yield by a GCC-based private non-investment grade corporate issuer since 202

Fossil Fuels Are a Thing of the Past; The Future Is Renewable: The Smarter E Europe Concludes With a Clear Message25.6.2026 20:03:00 EEST | Press release

Packed halls, a vibrant atmosphere and a buzzing vibe – after three days, The smarter E Europe 2026, Europe’s largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry, has come to a successful close. The event held at Messe München offered a glimpse of a future-oriented energy world powered by renewables. A strong signal with a clear message went out to the world from the Bavarian capital: The future is renewable. Renewable energies can help ensure a reliable, secure and cost-effective energy supply around the clock, seven days a week. A total of 2,650 exhibitors from 52 countries – many of whom had expanded their booth space compared with the previous year – demonstrated how this can work. More than 66 percent of exhibitors were from outside of Germany. They presented innovative and market-ready products ranging from virtual power plants, smart grid and load control, smart charging solutions, storage technologies and PV hybrid systems to digital platforms transparently and flexibly.The

HeyGen Doubles to $200M ARR in Eight Months on the Rise of Identity-First AI Video25.6.2026 19:02:00 EEST | Press release

HeyGen, the identity-first AI video platform, today announced it has surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue, doubling in eight months. The milestone reflects a rapid shift in how individuals, small businesses, and enterprises adopt AI video: as a scalable layer for human communication across languages, formats, and audiences. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260625305891/en/ HeyGen passes $200M in ARR HeyGen's community now spans more than 30 million users in 196 countries and 175+ languages & dialects, from solopreneurs creating professional social videos for the first time to 85% of the Fortune 100 — who together have created more than 118 million videos. That growth has come with rare capital efficiency: HeyGen generates roughly $2.70 in ARR for every dollar of equity capital raised, making it one of the most capital-efficient venture-backed AI companies in the world. "Crossing $200 million in AR

Amazfit Brings Interactive iOS Notifications to Select Smartwatches in Europe25.6.2026 17:50:00 EEST | Press release

Amazfit, a leading global smart wearable brand owned by Zepp Health, today announced its support of iOS Notification Forwarding, a new Beta feature that provides eligible iPhone users in the European Union with a more complete notification experience on select Amazfit smartwatches. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260625552705/en/ Amazfit brings interactive iOS notifications to select smartwatches in Europe, allowing users to interact with supported notifications directly from their watch. The feature goes beyond basic notification alerts, allowing users to interact with supported notifications directly from their watch. Depending on the notification type, users may be able to reply to messages, complete quick actions such as Mark as Read or Call Back, and view supported images from camera, doorbell and other alerts. iOS Notification Forwarding will initially be available on: Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Amazfit Bal

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye