Maps¶

This page tells you how to use the maps of LUC Analytics.

The two maps¶

LUC Analytics has two maps:

The map of all locations. Its title is Polygons — all locations. It shows the boundaries of all the locations in a list.
The map of one location. Its title is Location Map — . It shows the boundary of one location and the analysis layers for that location.

The map of all locations does not show analysis layers. It has no time filters, no swipe compare and no Clear map data control.

Open the map of all locations¶

Open a list.
Push View all locations in the toolbar above the table.

The map shows the boundary of each location. Above the map, the app shows the name and the status of each location.

To find the name of a location, push its boundary on the map. A Location box shows the name. If more than one location is at that point, the box shows the position, for example "1 of 3". Push Show next location at this point to see the next name. Push Dismiss location name to close the box.

Open the map of one location¶

Open a list.
Find the row of the location in the table.
Push MAP in that row.

The title shows the name of the location. If the list has an order number for the row, the title also shows it, for example "· Order 4".

You cannot open a map for the row of all locations.

Close a map¶

Push × at the top right of the map.

Map controls¶

The map controls are on the edge of the map. They have these buttons:

+ (Zoom in)
− (Zoom out)
⤢ (Zoom to location(s)). This button moves the map so that all the boundaries fit in the view.

Chips and panels¶

Small buttons on the map open panels. This guide calls these buttons "chips". When you push a chip, its panel opens. If the map is narrow, the chips show only an icon.

Chip	Corner	Panel contents
Layers	Top left	The layer rows and the legend
Date periods	Top left	The time filters (map of one location only)
Dataset versions	Top left	The data versions of the layers (map of one location only)
Clear map data	Top left	The controls that remove stored map data (map of one location only)
Basemap & comparison	Top right	The basemaps, the imagery date and Compare A / B
Style	Bottom right	The colors and the lines
Configuration	Bottom right	The map key templates

On the map of one location, the bottom left corner has three more chips: Analysis layers, Cell detail and the zoom chip (Live zoom ).

On the map of all locations, the Basemap & comparison chip shows only if you can select more than one basemap, or if the basemap has dates.

Analysis layers¶

The Analysis layers chip shows or hides all the analysis layers at the same time.

Push Analysis layers to hide the analysis layers.
Push Analysis layers again to show them.

NOTE: Make sure that you look at the chip each time you open a map. The analysis layers are on each time that you open a map or go to a different location.

Layers and the map key¶

The Layers panel is the map key. It has one row for each layer. Each row has a checkbox, a color sample and the layer name.

The map of one location has these layers:

JRC pixel window
SBTN pixel window
Alerts pixel window
TCL pixel window
Parcel boundaries
Selection halo

The map of all locations has only Parcel boundaries and Selection halo.

Show or hide a layer¶

Push Layers.
Select the checkbox of the layer to show it.
Clear the checkbox of the layer to hide it.

If the app cannot show a layer, you cannot select its checkbox. A note replaces the layer name, for example [No TCL data captured].

Change the intensity of a layer¶

Each pixel window layer has an intensity control from 0 to 100 %.

Push Layers.
Move the slider in the row of the layer. You can also type a number from 0 to 100 in the box.

Other controls in the map key¶

Show cell boundaries shows a line around each cell.
Show density shows a square in each cell when you zoom out. The size of the square shows the part of the pixels that have loss or alerts.

The legend¶

The Legend in the Layers panel tells you what the marks on the map mean:

Gray: not fully calculated yet
Dashed line: edge of the mapped area
No color inside it: neutral, all pixels calculated, none positive for this selection.
Square size: share of pixels with loss/alerts (zoomed-out views). This row shows only when the cells are larger than the source pixels.

For the alerts layer, the map key shows Alerts: highest confidence and Alerts: high confidence in the native view. In a view with larger cells, it shows Alerts (high + highest).

Style¶

The Style panel lets you change the colors and the lines of the layers.

Select a color for each layer. A palette and Quick picks are available. Push Edit quick picks to change the quick picks.
Change the Width of the Boundary line. Its Opacity is always 100 %.
Change the color, the Width and the Opacity of the Selection halo.

If a color is near the color of a data layer, the panel shows a warning. It can be difficult to see the difference between two layers that have near colors.

The Alerts hue & confidence key shows the colors of the two alert confidence levels.

Map key templates¶

A map key template keeps the configuration of your map in a file. The file name ends in ".mpky". A template keeps these items:

The visible layers, their intensity and Show cell boundaries.
The colors, the widths and the opacity of the lines.
The basemap, the imagery date and the zoom.
The loss years and the alert dates.

Save a template¶

Push Configuration.
If necessary, change the name in File name.
Push Save.

The browser downloads the file. The template also comes into view in Saved configurations.

Use a template¶

Push Configuration.
Do one of these steps:
In Saved configurations, push Use next to the template.
Push Load… and select a template file on your computer.

If the file is not a correct template, the map does not change. The panel shows an error, for example "This is not a Map Key template file."

Basemaps¶

The basemap is the map image below the boundaries and the layers. The Basemap & comparison panel shows only the basemaps that you can use.

Basemap	Necessary credential	Dates	Map
OpenStreetMap	None	No	Both maps
Satellite	A key for your tile provider, outside the Settings page. Refer to The Satellite basemap.	No	Both maps
Google Maps	Google Maps	No	Both maps
Google Satellite	Google Maps	No	Both maps
Planet	Planet	Month	Map of one location only
Sentinel-2 (Copernicus Data Space)	Copernicus (CDSE)	Day	Both maps

Add the Google Maps, Planet and Copernicus (CDSE) credentials in Settings > Credentials. Refer to Settings.

The Sentinel-2 basemap¶

In the Docker image, Sentinel-2 (Copernicus Data Space) is on when the container starts for the first time. The container makes /data/config.yaml from config.example.yaml, and that file turns on the Copernicus provider. You only add the Instance ID on the Copernicus (CDSE) card in Settings > Credentials. Then the basemap shows in the Basemap & comparison panel.

NOTE: An installation from an earlier image keeps its old /data/config.yaml, because the container never changes a configuration file that exists. In that file, the Copernicus provider is off (cdse_enabled: false) and the tile template is empty. The basemap does not show until you change the file. Copy the cdse_ lines below maps: from /app/config.example.yaml in the container. Refer to The configuration file.

The Satellite basemap¶

No part of the Settings page can set the key of the Satellite basemap. The app shows this basemap only if you do these steps:

Put the key in the environment variable SATELLITE_TILES_API_KEY. You can also put it in a Docker secret with the same name, or in the Windows Credential Manager.
In the configuration file, set maps.satellite_tiles_url_template. The value must contain __APIKEY__ where the key goes.
In the configuration file, set maps.satellite_tiles_attribution.
Restart the app.

NOTE: The app does not use a key that you write in maps.satellite_tiles_api_key.

Select a basemap¶

Push Basemap & comparison.
Push the name of the basemap.

The app keeps your selection for the next map. If your basemap is not available, the map shows OpenStreetMap.

If the basemap tiles do not load, the map shows one of these messages:

For a basemap without dates: "Basemap tiles unavailable — check the provider key."
For a basemap with dates: "Basemap tiles unavailable — check the provider key or selected period."

Select the imagery date¶

A basemap with dates shows no image until it has a date.

For Planet, the map shows "Select a year and month to load imagery." Do these steps:

Push Choose date in the message. You can also push Basemap & comparison.
Move the Imagery as of slider. You can also type the month in the box as YYYY.MM, for example 2024.03.

For Sentinel-2 (Copernicus Data Space), the date is today when you open the map. To change it, type a date in Imagery as of. The map shows the most recent imagery on or before that date.

Swipe compare¶

The swipe compare shows two imagery dates on one map. Time A is on the left. Time B is on the right. You can use the swipe compare only on the map of one location, with a basemap that has dates.

Push Basemap & comparison.
Push Compare A / B.
Select the date for Time A.
Select the date for Time B.

When you set the two dates, a vertical line divides the map. A grip on the line shows the two dates, for example "◀ 2024.03 │ 2025.03 ▶". The Basemap & comparison chip also shows the two dates.

To move the line, do one of these steps:

Move the grip with the pointer.
Push the grip, then push the arrow keys. The line moves 5 % each time that you push an arrow key.
Push Home or End to move the line to the left edge or the right edge.

To stop the swipe compare, push Compare A / B again.

If the basemap has no dates, Compare A / B is not available. The panel shows "Compare is unavailable: this basemap has no dates to pick."

Time filters on the map¶

The Date periods chip opens the Time filters. These filters change only the map. They do not change the table.

When you open the map, it uses the loss years and the alert dates of the tab.

If the area is too large for local analysis, the panel shows "This panel is not yet populated."

Select the loss years¶

Push Date periods.
Select the first year in the left box.
Select the last year in the right box.

To select all the years, push Full range.

To select years that are not in one continuous range, do these steps:

Push Choose specific years….
Select the checkbox of each year that you want.
Push Done.

If the years are not continuous, the panel shows "Showing the exact years selected — this is not a continuous range. Edit in the list view." To change the years back to a continuous range, push Edit as range.

Select the alert dates¶

The alert dates control shows Alert dates: and the range, or Alert dates: any.

Push Date periods.
Push the alert dates control.
Do one of these steps:
Push Post TCL or Year to Date.
Type a date in Start Date: and in End Date:, then push Apply range.

Post TCL selects all the alert dates that the data has. Year to Date selects the dates from 1 January of this year to the last alert date.

Make the time filters small¶

Push the arrow next to Time filters to make the panel small. A short summary shows the loss years and the alert dates, for example "Loss years 2021–2023" and "Alerts any".

The alerts tab¶

The RECENT DISTURBANCE ALERTS tab shows the alerts for each location in the list. The toolbar has the alert window control, ⬇ Download CSV and View all locations. For the CSV file, refer to Exports.

Change the alert window¶

The alert window control shows Alerts, the start date and the end date. If you set your own dates, it also shows (custom).

Push the alert window control.
Do one of these steps:
Push Post TCL or Year to Date.
Type a date in Start Date: and in End Date:, then push Apply range.
Push × to close the control.

You cannot select dates before the first alert date or after the last alert date. The control shows the date of the last data in the text "Disturbance alerts are shown through (latest available data)."

To go back to the default range, push Reset to Auto.

If there is no data yet for this year, Year to Date is not available.

The alert window changes the table and the CSV file. When you open the map of a location from this tab, the map uses the same alert dates.

Cell detail and map resolution¶

The map of one location shows the data in cells. A native cell is one source pixel. In the native view, the map shows the message "10 m pixels: darker alerts are highest confidence, lighter are high."

The Cell detail chip sets the cell size:

Max resolution asks for the smallest cells that the map can show.
Auto resolution lets the app select the cell size for the zoom.

The chip shows the mode and the ratio of the cell size to the source pixel. For example, Cell detail · Max resolution, 1x shows native cells. Cell detail · Auto resolution, 4x shows cells that are 4 times the source pixel.

Each time that you open the map of a location, the mode is Max.

Change the cell detail¶

Push Cell detail. The mode changes from Max to Auto, or from Auto to Max.

When Max is not possible¶

Sometimes the map cannot show native cells. Then the chip shows Auto and a warning mark. Push the warning mark or put the pointer on it to read the cause:

"Native cells are smaller than a screen pixel at this zoom. Zoom in for Max resolution."
"Native cells cannot be drawn for a view this large. Zoom in for Max resolution."

Views with larger cells¶

When the cells are larger than the source pixels, each cell is a summary of many pixels. A cell with color shows that loss or alerts are in that cell. The size of the square in the cell shows the part of the pixels with loss or alerts.

When you zoom out from the native view, the map shows "Zoomed out: alerts show density by square size. Zoom in to 10 m pixels to see confidence." The message closes after 8 seconds.

If the server makes the cells larger to stay in its limits, the map shows "Coarsened to fit the budget — x source".

If you zoom out too far, the map shows "Zoom in to see map data. At this zoom the cells would be smaller than 2 screen pixels."

The zoom chip¶

The zoom chip shows the zoom level, for example Live zoom 14. Push it to see the scale:

The ground distance of one screen pixel, for example "~9 m per screen pixel".
The ground size of one cell, for example "~10 m cells".
The ratio of the cell to the source pixel, for example "cells are 1x source".

NOTE: These sizes are approximate values at the equator. The east-west ground size changes with latitude.

Information about a cell¶

Put the pointer on a cell to see its data. You can also move the focus to the map. The map then gives the data for the cell at the center of the map.

The cell data shows:

The position of the cell, for example "Cell 12 / 40".
One line for each layer, for example "TCL: loss" or "Alerts: highest confidence".
In a view with larger cells, the density: low, medium or high.

Other cell states are "Neutral: all pixels calculated, none positive for this selection." and "Not mapped: nothing calculated here."

Dataset versions¶

The Dataset versions panel shows the data version of each layer, for example "TCL: ".

If the list did not record its data versions, the chip shows Latest data. The panel tells you that the map shows the latest available data. To record the versions, run the list again.

Clear the map data¶

The map of one location keeps its calculated map data on your computer. You can remove this data. The map calculates the data again the next time that you open it.

NOTE: The two clear actions do not remove the location, its boundary or the figures in the table.

Clear the data of one location¶

Push Clear map data.
Push Clear.

This action removes the stored map data of the location. It keeps the cells that other lists also use. The panel tells you the quantity of data that it removed.

Hard clear the data of one location¶

WARNING: Make sure that you read the list names in the dialog. A hard clear also removes the map data that other lists use, and their maps must calculate again.

Push Clear map data.
Push Hard clear….
Read the dialog. If other lists use this data, the dialog gives their names.
Push Hard clear to continue, or push Cancel to stop.

To clear the map data of many lists, use Settings. Refer to Settings.