Search Archive

Search the EarthCache archive for already-collected imagery that fits your needs

Data that has already been captured and stored by one of SkyWatch's data partners is called archive data. Archive data allows you to find information about the past state of your area of interest and monitor change over time.

Click on the EarthCache Tab to open the Add-In ribbon. Then, click on "Search Archive". The search pane will open in your Project window, to the left of your Map.

Explanation of Fields

AOI Layer

⚠️ Before drawing your own AOI, it is highly recommended that you save and close out any editing sessions you are currently performing on vector data, as this tool will automatically save any open edit sessions

Please make sure that your AOI polygon respects the required conditions given here.

To select a polygon layer from your Table of Contents as your input Area of Interest (AOI), click the dropdown under "Select AOI Layer". This dropdown will be automatically updated with any layer you add or remove from the Table of Contents.

If you want to create a new Area of Interest that's not in Table of Contents, you can draw one yourself on the map, by clicking the Pencil icon next to "Select AOI Layer"

This will open Draw tools at the bottom of your active Map window

Click on the Map to draw your Area of Interest.

Once complete, double click on the map to finish drawing. The layer will be automatically added to the dropdown as EarthCache User AOI

Resolution

Select the desired resolution for your search. Please make sure that your AOI area respects the requirements of the resolution that you choose.

Minimum Coverage

It is generally recommended to use a value of 1% to return all possible results. If you are only interested in imagery that covers the entire AOI, then setting it to 85% or higher is recommended. The default value for Minimum Coverage is 80%.

Once ready, click "Run". You will see a new pane open at the bottom called "EarthCache Search Results". Scroll to see all results categorized by Search ran, resolution and sensor/timestamp. Click "Expand All" button at top to expand all results, and click "Collapse All" to collapse them.

You can filter your results by scrolling to the top and clicking on "Filter Results". You can filter by keyword in name, sensor, resolution range, maximum cloud cover (%), or minimum AOI coverage. Start typing into these fields and the search results will filter based on filter values.

Each result contains information about cost, area coverage, cloud cover, and resolution. If you want to see the imagery previewed on the map as a low-resolution .png, click "Preview in Map". The image will be added to the Table of Contents and appear on Map. Note that this preview image may take a moment to show up.

Scroll through the results and check the boxes for ones you want to add to this order. Then, scroll to the bottom and add a name to the order to easily identify it in your Order Dashboard later.

You can also expand the "Add Tags" section to add text labels and values to this order. Doing this can make searching for results in the Order dashboard easier.

Once you're ready to place your order, click on the "Order" button at the bottom. You will be prompted to a popup that asks to confirm the total price of creating the pipeline. Click "Yes" to proceed.

Once the order is placed, the EarthCache Order Dashboard opens up on the left.

Tip: Depending on whether data was captured on a specific day, archive data may or may not be available over your area of interest. If data is unavailable, try expanding your search parameters to other resolutions, a more tolerant cloud coverage, or allow for a wider date range