WorldView
WorldView-2 Band Combinations
DigitalGlobe Constellation
The purpose of this document is to show and describe several of the more important band combinations
possible with the DigitalGlobe WorldView-22 image data. The following describes the applications areas
associated with each WorldView-22 spectral bands:
Coastal Blue (0.40 - 0.45 µm) (new on WV-22)
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Chlorophyll absorption, blue light scattering, water depth
Supports coastline water depth studies.
Subject to atmospheric scattering and is b
being used for atmospheric correction
Blue (0.45 - 0.51 µm)
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Blue band is designed for water body penetration
Useful for soil/vegetation discrimination, forest type mapping and cultural feature identification.
Green (0.51 -0.58 µm)
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Green Band is useful for measuring green reflectance of vegetation.
Can be used for cultural feature identification.
Yellow (0.585 - 0.625 µm) (new on WV-2)
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Important for vegetation and turbidity applications.
Useful for vegetation and material feature identification.
Red (0.63 -0.69 µm)
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Red is sensitive to chlorophyll absorption region.
Useful for vegetation analysis and differentiate plant types.
Useful for cultural feature identification.
Red Edge (0.705 - 0.745 µm) (new on WV-2)
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Aids in the analysis of vegetation and vegetative condition.
Directly related to plant health revealed through chlorophyll status
Near Infrared (NIR1) (0.77 -0.895 µm)
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NIR band is useful for determining vegetation types, vigor and biomass survey, delineating water bodies, and for
soil moisture discrimination.
NIR2 (0.86 – 1.04 µm) (new on WV-2)
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Overlaps the NIR1 band,
Supports vegetation analysis, materials differentiation and biomass studies;
Has water vapor influence.
Band Combinations
5,3,2 (Red,Green,Blue)
The "natural color" band combination. Because the visible bands are used in this combination, ground features appear
in colors similar to their appearance to the human visual system, healthy vegetation is green, recently cleared fields are
very light, unhealthy vegetation is brown and yellow, roads are gray, and shorelines are white.
7,5,3 (NIR1,Red,Green)
The standard "false color" composite. Vegetation appears in shades of red, urban areas are cyan blue, and soils vary
from dark to light browns. Ice, snow and clouds are white or light cyan. Coniferous trees will appear darker red than
hardwoods. This is a very popular band combination and is useful for vegetation studies, monitoring drainage and soil
patterns and various stages of crop growth. Densely populated urban areas are shown in light blue. This band
combination gives results similar to traditional color infrared aerial photography.
7,3,2 (NIR1,Green,Blue)
Modified “false color” composite band combination. Generally, this band combination differentiates conifer-deciduousgrassy vegetation with a broader hue change than the standard false color composite band combination. Conifers
appear dark-red, deciduous tend to be represented in brighter-reds while grassy areas tend to show up with orange-red
hues.
7,6,5 (NIR1,RedEdge, Red)
The “vegetation” band combination. This band combination covers the area of the spectrum where chlorophyll
transitions from absorption to reflection and illustrates some of the characteristics represented in vegetation indices.
Conifers appear in brown-green hues, while grass and crops tend to appear in yellow and orange hues. Subtle variations
in the vegetation canopy show up well. Bare soils and rock outcrops show up in grayish hues.
8,4,1 (NIR2,Yellow,Coastal)
This band combination provides a broad-ranging representation of different land cover types with varying colors. This
combination can be used to help visually “see” the different surface features and help to quickly recognize land use and
land cover patterns. Vegetation appears red, built up areas appear blue with highly variable colors representing
vegetation changes and structures.
8,7,6 (NIR2,NIR1,Red Edge)
This band combination focuses on the near-infrared spectrum of the image and highlights vegetation in light colored
yellows and help to illustrate vegetation, water, and built-up features with a higher degree of contrast.
3,2,1 (Green,Blue,Coastal)
This band combination provides the most water penetration and superior bathymetric information. The image on the
right is a natural color (Red, Green, Blue) image compared to the Green, Blue, Coastal image on the left. The WV-2 band
combination also avoids additional surface reflection, present in the image on the right. Green vegetation appears in
hues of red. Water depth transitions through grays, to greens, to blues.