Help Content > Import Data > Download > ESA SciHub Sentinel-2 Download

Purpose

This tool allows user to perform a query and download Sentinel-2 data from the ESA scientific Hub (https://scihub.copernicus.eu/dhus/). An account with login credentials is required. The aim of this tool is to visually compare SAR and optical data.

Technical Note

This tool performs a search for Sentinel-2 data according to the query built through the input parameters. According to today's ESA policies, a maximum of two concurrent downloads per account are allowed. The downloaded data has to be decompressed. To display the downloaded data, the TCI file (or the bands 4-3-2) in the GRANULE\L1C_*\IMG_DATA folder has to be loaded in the view.

When started from the SARscape graphical user interface (under Import Data->Sentinel-2 Data Download), the downloader is executed as a stand-alone, detached window. In this way, the downloading process does not depend on ENVI: you can even close ENVI while the downloader will continue to run. Under Linux, we use the "xterm" application to spawn the downloader into a stand-alone terminal: please make sure that this application is already installed on the machine where you are using SARscape. Xterm is usually available by default on most of the available Linux distributions or can be easily installed through the various distribution repositories (e.g., under RHEL/CentOS, simply run "yum install xterm" as administrator to install it). However, it is not possible to start the download while another process is running on the same working directory. If this happens, the first process will be killed and has to be resumed again.

Product Type:

Level-1C: Top-of-atmosphere reflectances in cartographic geometry,

Level-2A: Bottom-of-atmosphere reflectance in cartographic geometry. products are nominally published 48-60 hours after the publication of the corresponding L1C products.

Level-2Ap data are the products generated before March 2018.

Progress File

When at least one full data is downloaded, a Progress File named as defined in the Output tab is created in the output directory. This file can be used to skip already downloaded files which match the query. This file contains a list of all the data which are completely downloaded and the MD5 match the one provided by ESA SciHub. When a second request is preformed using the Sentinel Data Download tool, it is possible to set an already existing Progress File in the Progress File field. The software makes the following steps

•creates a list of needed files which fulfill the query created by the user using the provided parameters

•check if files in this this list are already present in the Progress File (if provided). If they are present, the files are not downloaded (again) and are skipped

•If a file is already downloaded, present in the output directory and the list of needed files but not in the Progress File, the software performs a MD5 check with the file present on ASF or ESA SciHub servers and if they match, the Progress file is actualized with this acquisition.

This functionality is helpful when an archive has to be updated with new files.

IMPORTANT: never use the same Progress File when using two concurrent downloads!

Concurrent downloads

One account allows a maximum of two concurrent download. Two different download can be launched with this tool but it is imperative to use two different progress files.

Please note: According to the connection speed the download of a single image can take up to several hours.

Please note: SciHubGet also deals with data provided through the Long Term Archive (LTA) by automatically triggering and monitoring the acquisition of files no longer available in the online storage.

Input Files

Optional Input Files

Input file(s) name of the image to be used as geographic reference for the search query. These files are mandatory if no shapefile or coordinate box is given as a reference. These files can be geocoded files, slant range or ground range files. However, the data type of the whole list has to be the same.

Optional Files

Geographical region

A vector file (.shp), or a Google Earth file (.kml or .kmz) can be upload to specify a region of interest. All acquisitions inside or intersecting this polygon are returned. The shapefile must be in GEO-GLOBAL cartographic system.

Parameters - Principal Parameters

Geographic Region

Box coordinates. All acquisitions inside or intersecting this box are returned. These fields have to be left empty if a shapefile is used as spatial reference. Co-ordinate decimal values must be entered using the dot (e.g. 29.30) and not the comma (e.g. 29,30) character.

West

The Westernmost cartographic co-ordinate (in decimal degrees).

North

The Northernmost cartographic co-ordinate (in decimal degrees).

East

The Easternmost cartographic co-ordinate (in decimal degrees).

South

The Southernmost cartographic co-ordinate (in decimal degrees).

From

Sensing period start date (day-MONTH-year), dd-MMM-yyyy, (01-JAN-1970).

Sensing period stop date (day-MONTH-year), dd-MMM-yyyy, (01-JAN-1970).

Preview Only

With this flag the Preview Mode shows the RGB considering the bands 4-3-2 .

Unzip Files

With this flag on, the downloaded files will be unzipped. to the directory selected in the Output Files.

Delete After extraction

With this flag on, the zip file is deleted after the file extractions. This parameter is optional.

Product Type

Filter for product type (S2MSI1C, S2MSC2A, S2MSC2Ap). This parameter is optional.

Relative Orbit

Filter for relative orbit (e.g. 1, 2, 3... ). This parameter is optional.

Wait For Completion

It allows to close the panel ones the process is completed.

Min Cloud Coverage

Minimum percentage of cloud coverage of S2 products for each area covered by a reference band. Possible values go from 0 TO 100.

Max Cloud Coverage %

Maximum percentage of cloud coverage of S2 products for each area covered by a reference band. Possible values go from 0 TO 100.

Username of Sentinel Scientific Hub login credentials. This field is mandatory.

Password of Sentinel Scientific Hub login credentials. This field is mandatory.

Proxy - URL

If a proxy server is being used for accessing the external network, write here the server address.This field is optional.

Proxy - USERNAME

If the proxy server requires a username put it here.This field is optional.

Proxy - PASSWORD

If the proxy server requires a password, put it here.This field is optional.

Parameters - Global

It brings to the general section of the Preferences parameters. Any modified value will be used and stored for further processing sessions.

Parameters - ESA SciHub Service

Base URL

It allows setting the ESA Scientific Hub web API entry point (https://scihub.copernicus.eu/dhus/) to perform queries.

Search URL

Subdirectory appended to the base_url address for performing search operations.

Data URL

Subdirectory appended to the base_url address for performing data downloading operations.

Connection timeout

The number of seconds SciHubGet will wait before considering a pending connection failed.

Download timeout

The number of seconds SciHubGet will wait to download at least the number of bytes specified in the download_speed field before considering a pending download failed.

Download Speed

A threshold value, in byte, of data that must be downloaded within the specified download time out, otherwise the connection is considered lost and an error is triggered.

Download Directory

The output directory where content is downloaded.

Parameters - ESA SciHub Account

Username of Sentinel Scientific Hub login credentials. This field is mandatory.

Password of Sentinel Scientific Hub login credentials. This field is mandatory. Please be aware that this password is stored in clear in the configuration file!

Proxy - URL

If needed, this is the URL of the proxy that SciHubGet must use to access the web. Leave it empty if not used.

Proxy - USERNAME

If the proxy requires a username put it here. Leave it empty, otherwise.

Proxy - PASSWORD

If the proxy requires a password, put it here.Leave it, empty otherwise.

Fiirst name

Write here your personal given name.

Last name

Write here your family name.

E-mail

Write here your e-mail address.

Parameters - Other Parameters

It brings to the general section of the Preferences parameters. Any modified value will be used and stored for further processing sessions.

Output Files

Progress File Name

Name of the progress file. All the files found will be downloaded in this directory. More information in the technical notes.

In case the Preview Mode is active, no SAR data is downloaded. Instead, following files will be created for each acquisition:

*.png

Quicklook image file of the acquisition.

*.kml

Kml file, which can be opened in Google Earth, ArcGIS Earth (or similar). This file contains a footprint polygon and will drape the *.png image

*.safe

This file which contains the general product information of the acquisition in XML format. The original file is called manifest.safe. It will be automatically renamed during download in order to have several different manifest.safe in the same folder. More information here https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/user-guides/sentinel-1-sar/data-formats/safe-specification

*.dat (with .hdr)

Image quicklook file and corresponding hdr file readable in any GIS software.

Unzip files to this directory

All the downloaded files are unzipped in this directory.

General Functions

Exec

The processing step is executed.

Store Batch

The processing step is stored in the batch list. The Batch Browser button allows to load the batch processing list.

The window will be closed.

Help

Specific help document section.

Specific Function(s)

None.

References

None.

Import Data - ESA SciHub Sentinel-2 Download

Import Data - ESA SciHub Sentinel-2 Download