Space Imaging produces CARTERRA™ Geo products from IKONOS satellite source images. This CD has product examples of San Diego, California with 8- and 11-bit data in various band combinations as shown below.
Directory GSD Bits Bands
38658 1m 8 Pan
38659
38660
38661
38662
38663
1m
4m
4m
4m
1m
11
8
8
11
11
Pan
RGB MSI
CIR MSI
4-band MSI
RGB PSM
Within each directory you will find a GeoTIFF (.tif), a TIFF-World (.tfw), text header file (.hdr), and a metadata text file (.txt). The metadata file provides useful information about the source and product images in an easy to use format. The header and world files are alternative formats for geocoding. Geocoding information is also contained in the GeoTIFF file. Almost all TIFF viewing software can also read
GeoTIFF files, although some software is not compatible with 11-bit formats. Software designed to read
GeoTIFF files display both the image and the map coordinates of the image. You may use the data on this
CD to test the capabilities of your software.
Panchromatic (black & white) images have a 1-meter pixel size. Multispectral (MSI) images (Blue, Green,
Red, NIR) have a 4-meter pixel size. Space Imaging produces 1-meter, pan-sharpened (PSM) color images by colorizing 1-meter black & white data, with 4-meter multispectral data. Color images are commonly produced in RGB (natural color combination of red, green, and blue) and CIR (color infrared combination of NIR, red, and green) band combinations. Multispectral (MSI) images can also be produced in 4-bands as four separate files.
The 11-bit formats provide the full dynamic range of the satellite, but some software will require brightness/contrast adjustment for satisfactory viewing. You can exploit these adjustments to enhance detail in shadow or highlight areas. The 8-bit formats are more compact and should be adequate for most applications.
The 4-meter multispectral data is processed without dynamic range adjustment (DRA). This maintains the absolute radiometric accuracy of the satellite sensor for automated processing algorithms, but image adjustments may be required for satisfactory viewing.
The color (pan-sharpened) images greatly enhance image interpretability by providing high-resolution color imagery. The 11-bit format is featured on this CD and 8-bit pan-sharpened imagery will be available soon.
Directory 8bit_psm is a preview of future 8-bit pan-sharpened products.