Supported Sensors
ACOLITE supports over 50 satellite sensors with automatic format detection. This page lists all supported sensors and their input formats.
Multispectral Sensors
Landsat Series
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Landsat 5 TM |
.tar.gz, directory |
Collection 2 Level-1 |
Landsat 7 ETM+ |
.tar.gz, directory |
Collection 2 Level-1 |
Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS |
.tar.gz, directory |
Collection 2 Level-1, TACT thermal support |
Landsat 9 OLI-2/TIRS-2 |
.tar.gz, directory |
Collection 2 Level-1, TACT thermal support |
Sensor IDs: L5_TM, L7_ETM, L8_OLI, L9_OLI
Sentinel-2 MSI
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Sentinel-2A MSI |
.SAFE, .zip |
10/20/60m resolution bands |
Sentinel-2B MSI |
.SAFE, .zip |
10/20/60m resolution bands |
Sensor IDs: S2A_MSI, S2B_MSI
Key Settings:
s2_target_res=10
geometry_type=grids_footprint
Sentinel-3 OLCI
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Sentinel-3A OLCI |
.SEN3, directory |
21 bands, 300m resolution |
Sentinel-3B OLCI |
.SEN3, directory |
21 bands, 300m resolution |
Sensor IDs: S3A_OLCI, S3B_OLCI
Key Settings:
smile_correction=True
use_supplied_ancillary=True
VIIRS
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
VIIRS SNPP |
L1B NetCDF |
I-bands (375m), M-bands (750m) |
VIIRS JPSS-1/NOAA-20 |
L1B NetCDF |
I-bands (375m), M-bands (750m) |
VIIRS JPSS-2/NOAA-21 |
L1B NetCDF |
I-bands (375m), M-bands (750m) |
Sensor IDs: VIIRSN, VIIRSJ1, VIIRSJ2
Key Settings:
viirs_option=img+mod
viirs_scanline_projection=True
Commercial High-Resolution
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
PlanetScope Dove |
GeoTIFF, zip |
3-4 bands, 3m resolution |
PlanetScope SuperDove |
GeoTIFF, zip |
8 bands, 3m resolution |
RapidEye |
GeoTIFF |
5 bands, 5m resolution |
WorldView-2 |
GeoTIFF, .tar |
8 bands, 2m resolution |
WorldView-3 |
GeoTIFF, .tar |
8 VIS/NIR + 8 SWIR bands |
QuickBird-2 |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 2.4m resolution |
Pléiades 1A/1B |
DIMAP |
4 bands, 2m resolution |
Pléiades Neo |
DIMAP |
6 bands, 30cm resolution |
SPOT 6/7 |
DIMAP |
4 bands, 6m resolution |
Ikonos |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 4m resolution |
GeoEye-1 |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 2m resolution |
Sensor IDs: Planet, WorldView2, WorldView3, PHR1A, PHR1B, SPOT6, SPOT7
Other Multispectral
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Venµs |
HDF5 |
12 bands, 5m resolution |
MERIS |
N1 format |
15 bands, 300m resolution |
FORMOSAT-2 |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 8m resolution |
Amazonia-1 |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 60m resolution |
Deimos-2 |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 4m resolution |
Hyperspectral Sensors
PACE OCI
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
PACE OCI |
L1B/L2 NetCDF |
286 bands (340-2260 nm), ~1 km resolution |
Sensor ID: PACE_OCI
NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission carries the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), a hyperspectral radiometer covering UV to SWIR wavelengths. ACOLITE supports both L1B and L2 processing.
Key Settings:
# Recommended to use with spatial subset due to data volume
limit=south,west,north,east
# or
polygon=/path/to/polygon.geojson
# Dark spectrum fitting for aerosol correction
dsf_aot_estimate=tiled
dsf_wave_range=1200,2300
# Tile merging for adjacent granules
merge_tiles=True
Notes:
Processing is recommended with a spatial subset (
limitorpolygon) due to large data volumesSupports tile merging for adjacent granules
L1B data is converted to L1R format for ACOLITE processing
L2 data can also be ingested directly
Calibration gains from NASA OCSSW are available
Other Hyperspectral
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
PRISMA |
HE5 |
240 bands, 30m resolution |
DESIS |
GeoTIFF, zip |
235 bands, 30m resolution |
EnMAP |
GeoTIFF |
224 bands, 30m resolution |
EMIT |
NetCDF |
285 bands, 60m resolution |
HICO |
HDF5 |
128 bands, 90m resolution |
CHRIS |
HDF4 |
18-62 bands, 18-36m resolution |
Hyperion |
GeoTIFF |
220 bands, 30m resolution |
Tanager |
NetCDF |
Hyperspectral, experimental |
HYPSO |
NetCDF |
Hyperspectral cubesat |
Wyvern |
GeoTIFF |
Hyperspectral cubesat |
OpenCosmos |
GeoTIFF |
Hyperspectral |
Sensor IDs: PRISMA, DESIS, ENMAP, EMIT, HICO, CHRIS, EO1_HYPERION
Key Settings for PRISMA:
prisma_rhot_per_pixel_sza=True
prisma_store_l2c=False
Geostationary Sensors
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
GOES-16/17/18 ABI |
NetCDF |
16 bands, 0.5-2km resolution |
Himawari-8/9 AHI |
HSD, NetCDF |
16 bands, 0.5-2km resolution |
MSG SEVIRI |
Native, NetCDF |
12 bands, 1-3km resolution |
MTG FCI |
NetCDF |
16 bands, 0.5-2km resolution |
GOCI-2 |
NetCDF |
12 bands, 250m resolution |
Sensor IDs: GOES16_ABI, GOES17_ABI, H08_AHI, H09_AHI, MSG*_SEVIRI, GOCI2
Key Settings:
ahi_target_res=2.0
abi_target_res=1.0
fci_target_res=1.0
Thermal Sensors
ACOLITE supports thermal processing for these sensors via TACT:
Sensor |
Thermal Bands |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Landsat 5 TM |
Band 6 |
120m resolution |
Landsat 7 ETM+ |
Band 6 |
60m resolution |
Landsat 8 TIRS |
Bands 10, 11 |
100m resolution |
Landsat 9 TIRS-2 |
Bands 10, 11 |
100m resolution |
ECOSTRESS |
5 TIR bands |
70m resolution |
EarthCare |
Thermal |
Experimental |
Enable thermal processing:
tact_run=True
tact_profile_source=era5
tact_emissivity=water
Chinese Sensors
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
GaoFen-1 (GF-1) |
GeoTIFF |
PMS: 4 bands, 8m; WFV: 4 bands, 16m |
GaoFen-2 (GF-2) |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 4m resolution |
GaoFen-4 (GF-4) |
GeoTIFF |
Geostationary, 50m resolution |
GaoFen-6 (GF-6) |
GeoTIFF |
8 bands, 8m resolution |
Haiyang-1C/1D (HY-1C/D) |
HDF5 |
Ocean color, 250m-1km |
Huanjing-1A/1B |
GeoTIFF |
4 bands, 30m resolution |
SDGSAT-1 |
GeoTIFF |
Multispectral imager |
Sensor IDs: GF1_*, GF2_*, HY1C_*, HJ1A_CCD, HJ1B_CCD
Other Sensors
Sensor |
Input Format |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
AVHRR |
NetCDF |
Historical ocean color |
SeaWiFS |
L1B |
Via SeaDAS format |
Input Format Detection
ACOLITE automatically detects input formats based on:
File extension (.zip, .tar.gz, .SAFE, .SEN3, etc.)
Directory structure
Metadata files
File naming conventions
To force a specific input type:
ac.acolite.acolite_l1r('/data/input', input_type='S2A_MSI')
Sensor-Specific Defaults
ACOLITE includes sensor-specific default settings in config/defaults/. These are automatically applied based on the detected sensor.
Example sensor defaults file (config/defaults/S2A_MSI.txt):
dsf_tile_dimensions=200,200
dsf_min_tile_cover=0.10
geometry_type=grids_footprint
Data Sources
ACOLITE can automatically download data from various sources:
Copernicus Data Space (CDSE)
scene_download=True
scene_download_directory=/data/downloads
Requires CDSE credentials.
EarthData (NASA)
For ancillary data and some sensors. Requires EarthData account.
Earth Explorer (USGS)
For Landsat data. Requires USGS credentials.
See Installation for credential setup.
Adding New Sensors
To add support for a new sensor, create a module in acolite/ with:
l1_convert()function for L1R conversionmetadata_read()for extracting metadataRSR files in
data/Shared/RSR/Default settings in
config/defaults/
Contact the ACOLITE developers via the forum for guidance on adding new sensors.