Wetland monitoring from satellite remote sensing requires balancing four competing performance dimensions: spatial resolution (determining the minimum resolvable wetland feature), temporal frequency (determining how quickly change is detected), spectral configuration (determining which vegetation and water indices can be calculated), and data cost (determining programme sustainability at scale). No single platform optimises all four dimensions simultaneously, and platform selection must be driven by the specific monitoring objectives of each programme.
Sentinel-2 (operated by ESA as part of the Copernicus programme) offers 10m spatial resolution in the visible and near-infrared bands (bands 2, 3, 4, 8), 20m in the red edge and shortwave infrared bands (bands 5, 6, 7, 8A, 11, 12), and 60m in the atmospheric correction bands. The constellation's 5-day revisit frequency (at equatorial latitudes; 2–3 days at mid-latitudes due to overlapping swaths) provides adequate temporal sampling for seasonal wetland phenology monitoring. The data is freely available via the Copernicus Open Access Hub and AWS Open Data programme, making it the cost-optimal solution for large-area monitoring programmes.
PlanetScope (operated by Planet Labs) offers 3m spatial resolution in four multispectral bands (blue, green, red, NIR) with daily revisit frequency. The superior spatial resolution enables detection of small wetland features (isolated prairie potholes, narrow riparian corridors, mangrove fringe zones) that fall below Sentinel-2's detection threshold. The daily revisit frequency enables precise timing of inundation onset and recession events critical for flood pulse monitoring in riverine floodplain systems.
For large-scale regulatory compliance monitoring programmes (EPA Section 404 jurisdiction delineation, EU Habitats Directive Article 17 reporting), Sentinel-2's free data access and adequate spatial resolution at 10m makes it the appropriate primary platform. For project-scale impact assessment, mitigation site monitoring, or research applications requiring fine-scale feature detection, PlanetScope's 3m resolution provides necessary precision at a typical cost of $4–8 per km² per year for commercial licensing.
The Prime Logic GIS Dashboard Suite provides automated processing pipelines for both platforms: Sentinel-2 Level-2A products (atmospherically corrected) ingested via Sentinel Hub API with automated cloud masking and NDVI/NDWI/MNDWI index calculation; PlanetScope Analytic SR products ingested via Planet API with radiometric normalisation. Both pipelines support time-series change detection and classification workflows for common wetland mapping applications.