The Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) is a satellite series built by the Surrey Satellite Technology ltd (SSTL) and run by DMC International Imaging (DMCII). The DMC data archive contains data from the first (DMC-6) and second generation (DMC-6-22) UK satellites (which were part of the DMC), having multitemporal coverage for most parts of the UK for each year since 2007. The Landmap project collected the best available DMC images as a single coverage of most of the UK for each year from 2007 to 2010. The resolution provided by the second generation satellites and first generation satellites is 22m and 32m respectively.

The DMC is a constellation of small satellites that was formed by national governments and organisations for coordinating satellite imaging campaigns to assess and mitigate natural disasters with more up to date and timely imagery. The DMC programme started by launching Algeria's satellite "AlSat-1" in the year 2002. This first satellite was soon joined by the satellites of British National Space Centre, Nigeria and Turkey forming the four satellite constellation. Later, China and Spain also became a part of the DMC mission.

The radiometers onboard have 2 banks of 3 imagers of the following bands and a spatial resolution of up to 22 or 32m:

• Green: 0.52 to 0.60µm
• Red: 0.63 to 0.69µm
• Near InfraRed (NIR): 0.77 to 0.90µm

Data are available in GeoTiff and ecw (Enhanced Compression Wavelet) formats.

The DMC data are available to UK academics and students. To apply for access, please

• 1) Register as a CEDA user. If you already are a CEDA (or NEODC or BADC) registered user, skip this step. If you have forgotten your CEDA user ID and/or password, please contact the helpdesk at support@ceda.ac.uk.
• 2) Apply for access to the Landmap data. Application involves the agreement with the Landmap terms of use.

The data are archived in the directory structure of region/year/format/data. The data are available in GeoTiff format (with GeoTiff world files (.tfw) which are data files that are used to geo-reference images to an appropriate projection scheme) and ecw (Enhanced Compression Wavelet) format. Geotiff files are TIFF files which have geographic metadata embedded as tags within the TIFF file. The geographic metadata can then be used to position the image in the correct location and geometry on the screen of a geographic information display. They can be opened by most Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Image Processors (IP) such as the freely available Basic ERS & Envisat (A)ATSR and Meris Toolbox (BEAM). The ecw (Enhanced Compression Wavelet) files are compressed images and can also be opened in most image viewing/editing software, including open/free software such as Erdas ER viewer.

Software

Basic ERS & Envisat (A) ATSR and Meris Toolbox (BEAM): BEAM is an open-source toolbox and development platform for viewing, analysing and processing of remote sensing raster data. Originally developed to facilitate the utilisation of image data from Envisat's optical instruments, BEAM now supports a growing number of other raster data formats such as GeoTIFF and NetCDF as well as data formats of other Earth Observation (EO) sensors such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), AVNIR, Polarised Radiation Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (PRISM) and Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS). Various data and algorithms are supported by dedicated extension plug-ins.

Erdas ER viewer, available free of charge, can be used to open raster image formats such as TIFF, GeoTiff, IMG, ECW, ERS, ALG, DAT and many more, and is capable of handling large file sizes.

Documentation

• DMC Data Product Manual - provides detailed information about the satellites and their instruments

Links to further information

• The Landmap project DMC website - this site may be offline after 1st August 2014 due to a withdrawal of JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) funding, see below for an archived version of the site
• An archived version of the Landmap project DMC website, hosted by the Internet Archive project
• The Disaster Monitoring Constellation International Imaging (DMCII) website

If you have queries about these pages or about obtaining the Landmap DMC data from the NEODC then you should contact the NEODC Support team. Your query should be answered within one working day. When follow-up work is required, the NEODC support team will carry out the work as quickly and efficiently as possible.