Geospatial Analysis
Vantage supports geospatial analysis beyond the core EUDR workflow in the app and API. These analyses help teams screen supplier sites, agricultural parcels, candidate properties, and infrastructure assets using satellite-derived indicators and geospatial datasets.
In the Vantage app, users select plots and choose an analysis from grouped options. API users can run published Geospatial Analysis capability types through analysis jobs documented in the API Reference. Some analyses are validated named analyses; others are provisional screens while methodology and public result definitions continue to stabilize.
Operating asset signals
Vantage also provides a set of operating-asset signals for mines, farms, refineries, power plants, storage sites, pipelines, and other infrastructure. These signals are designed to help teams prioritize locations for review. They combine satellite observations, climate and hazard models, and event feeds; they are not a substitute for engineering studies, emergency alerts, or regulatory determinations.
The signal catalogue is organized into four horizons. A result normally includes a High, Medium, or Low level, a short explanation containing the site's evidence, and the date of that evidence. When the source data cannot support a result, the signal returns Not assessed; missing data is not treated as Low. High results identify locations that need prompt attention, while Medium results identify locations where someone should investigate the evidence.
Active
Active signals describe what is happening at or around a site now or in a recent lookback window.
| Signal | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Fire | NASA FIRMS detections near the site, with persistent industrial heat such as flares and furnaces masked where possible. The result distinguishes a concentrated recent fire signal from a normal background. |
| Radar Flood | Sentinel-1 radar evidence of surface water on readable parts of the site and its surroundings, compared with the site's own recent baseline. Built-up, steep, permanent-water, and insufficiently observed areas may be Not assessed. |
| Extreme Heat | Recent ERA5-Land maximum temperatures compared with the site's own historical extremes. The signal uses both recurrence and absolute heat so that an unusually hot day is interpreted in local context. |
| Extreme Rainfall | Recent ERA5-Land daily, multi-day, and monthly precipitation compared with the site's historical extremes. It is a screening signal, not a local rain-gauge replacement. |
| Night Lights | Change in VIIRS nighttime radiance over the site compared with the same period a year earlier. Very dim sites are Not assessed because a percentage change is not meaningful there. |
| Earthquake | Recent USGS earthquake events near the site, with estimated shaking at the site from event magnitude and distance. Felt but non-damaging events can remain Low while still being described in the evidence sentence. |
| Cyclone | Recent NOAA IBTrACS storms and their wind-radius coverage at the site. Hurricane-force coverage is High and gale-force coverage is Medium when supported by the storm track. |
| Disaster Alert | GDACS alerts whose affected polygons or distance rules cover the site, including floods, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes, and fires. Green alerts can be reported without raising the level. |
| Combustion | Sentinel-5P nitrogen-dioxide excess over the site compared with a surrounding background. It helps identify unusually strong combustion sources but does not identify fuel type on its own. |
| Site Change | Dynamic World land-cover change over the site, emphasizing hard change to water, bare ground, or built ground rather than ordinary seasonal vegetation movement. |
Track Record
Track Record signals describe what has happened to the asset or its surroundings over the satellite record.
| Signal | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Forest Loss | Hansen tree-cover loss around the asset, compared with a surrounding reference area and supplemented by recent land-cover evidence. Loss inside a burn scar is separated from likely clearing, and primary-forest context is reported where available. |
Outlook
Outlook signals summarize conditions over the coming weeks to a season. They are proxy indicators, not forecasts of a specific event.
| Signal | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Fire Weather | Recent fire activity near the site combined with fire-weather conditions from reanalysis. Industrial heat and flaring can appear in the surrounding fire evidence, so the result should be reviewed in context. |
| Flood Weather | Recent rainfall and soil-moisture conditions that can increase near-term flood concern. It does not replace a hydrological forecast or an official warning. |
Structural Exposure
Structural Exposure signals describe longer-lived hazard exposure using hazard models and return periods. They indicate where a site merits further due diligence; they do not predict that an event will occur in a particular year.
| Signal | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Cyclone Wind | Modelled peak gust at multiple return periods from GIRI. Sites outside the cyclone belt are Low by absence of the hazard. |
| Earthquake | Modelled peak ground acceleration at standard return periods. Areas below the model's minimum hazard threshold are Low. |
| Fire | Annual or multi-year burn probability derived from FSim where available and satellite burn history elsewhere. The result reflects observed or modelled exposure, not a guaranteed burn forecast. |
| River Flood | Un-defended flood depth and site coverage at multiple return periods from GloFAS. Results should be interpreted with local drainage, defenses, and independent flood models. |
| Coastal Flood | Present-day coastal inundation depth, including subsidence where represented, across multiple return periods. Inland sites are Low when they fall outside the coastal hazard domain. |
| Landslide | Rain- and earthquake-triggered landslide susceptibility from NGI/GIRI classes, combined with site coverage. Terrain and local geology can require more detailed assessment. |
| Water Stress | WRI Aqueduct baseline water stress for the site's basin plus future scenario context. It describes basin-level pressure on renewable water supply, not the site's water availability or permit status. |
Context rows
Two supporting rows provide context without a High, Medium, or Low level: population within 1, 5, and 10 km, and terrain slope. Use them to interpret the other signals and decide whether a site needs specialist review.
Validation and interpretation
The operating-asset signals use different validation approaches. Some are calibrated against observed event catalogues or historical replays; others are ranked screens or face-valid model outputs where no complete event label exists. The result indicates the strength of the signal under its stated method, not the probability of loss, legal non-compliance, or a confirmed incident.
For operational use, review the evidence sentence, date, source limitations, and the site's own context before taking action. Signal thresholds and validation notes may change as the underlying models are tested and improved.
Compliance and Land Status
These analyses support compliance review, land-status checks, and evidence collection for due diligence workflows.
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| EUDR | Compliance bundle that runs deforestation analysis with protected-area and Indigenous-land checks. Requires commodity and harvest date. |
| Deforestation | Standalone forest-loss analysis over time using satellite imagery. Use EUDR analysis when protected-area and Indigenous-land checks are also required. |
| Protected Area | Checks whether a plot overlaps protected areas and returns overlap, source, and regulatory metadata where available. |
| Indigenous Land | Checks whether a plot overlaps Indigenous peoples' lands and returns overlap and source metadata where available. |
| Supplier Site Risk Screen | Multi-signal supplier-site screen for surfacing locations that need follow-up across land status, deforestation, and environmental risk indicators. |
Crop and Productivity
These analyses help users understand farm condition, vegetation performance, moisture, and portfolio-level agricultural health.
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Canopy Condition | Seasonal greenness check that compares current canopy condition against the plot's own history. Use it to flag plots where vegetation appears depressed; it is not a crop-identification, disease, or yield model. |
| Soil Moisture | Moisture-only screen that compares recent surface soil moisture with the same place and season in prior years, with rainfall anomaly as supporting context. It is not an irrigation schedule. |
| Productivity Trend | Multi-year productivity signal based on peak vegetation performance over time. Use it to spot sustained decline or improvement rather than short-term crop condition. |
| Farm Portfolio Health | Portfolio triage screen that combines canopy condition, drought stress, productivity trend, climate aridity, observed flooding, and wildfire burn history to surface farms that need attention. It is not a yield model or crop-insurance pricing tool. |
Climate and Hazard Risk
These analyses provide plot-level screening for environmental hazard exposure. They are designed for triage and portfolio review, not as forecasts or authoritative regulatory designations.
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Precipitation | Rainfall patterns and anomalies from climate datasets such as CHIRPS or ERA5. |
| Water Detection | Detection of water bodies using water indices such as NDWI or MNDWI on optical imagery. |
| Observed Flooding | Historical surface-water and flood-prone-setting screen. Use it to understand whether water has been present on or near the site; it is not a flood-zone designation. |
| Near-Term Flood Risk | Short-horizon flood concern screen using recent water and precipitation context. Treat it as a near-term monitoring signal, not an authoritative forecast. |
| Long-Term Flood Risk | Multi-year riverine flood hazard screen using structural flood-prone setting. It does not mean the plot will flood within a specific year and does not cover every pluvial, coastal, or drainage failure scenario. |
| Wildfire Burn History | Historic and recent burn evidence screen. Use it to understand whether a plot or nearby area has already burned. |
| Near-Term Wildfire Risk | Short-horizon wildfire danger screen using active-fire and weather context. It supports triage and monitoring, not guaranteed burn forecasting. |
| Long-Term Wildfire Risk | Structural wildfire exposure screen for multi-year planning. Use it for portfolio review and asset prioritization rather than emergency response. |
| Fire Damage | Burn severity and fire damage assessment using spectral burn indices such as dNBR. |
| Drought Risk Agriculture | Seasonal agricultural drought stress screen using local-normal drought, soil-moisture, and rainfall anomaly signals. A chronically dry place in a normal season should not be treated the same as a normally humid farm in an unusually dry season. |
| El Niño Climate Sensitivity | Historical ENSO sensitivity screen that shows how the local seasonal climate has typically responded to El Niño and La Niña conditions. It is not a seasonal forecast. |
| El Niño Seasonal Stress | Seasonal stress screen that uses the current ENSO phase to flag locations where historical El Niño or La Niña responses suggest unfavorable rainfed-agriculture conditions. It is not a weather forecast, day-by-day outlook, or yield model. |
| Coastal Erosion Risk | Coastal exposure screen using low-elevation terrain and adjacency to persistent water. It is not a shoreline-retreat or sea-level-rise forecast. |
Site Suitability and Verification
These analyses turn environmental signals into practical site, supplier, asset, or visual review decisions. They return verdict-style outputs with driver breakdowns so users can see which criteria contributed to the result.
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Solar Site Suitability | Provisional utility-scale solar PV suitability screen using criteria such as flatness, bare ground, low tree probability, and low built-up probability. |
| Vineyard Site Suitability | Provisional wine-grape vineyard siting screen using elevation, growing-season rainfall, growing-season temperature, low built-up probability, and low tree cover. |
| Data Center Site Suitability | Provisional hyperscale data center siting screen using flat terrain, cooler ambient temperatures, lower rainfall, lower population, and low tree cover. This does not replace fiber or power-transmission analysis. |
| Visual Verification | VLM-based yes/no/unclear verification of an area of interest using satellite imagery. |
| Asset Inspection Priority | Provisional ranking analysis that prioritizes assets for inspection using vegetation encroachment, wildfire burn history, and observed flooding. It does not assess structural integrity or live telemetry. |
Notes
Geospatial Analysis outputs are designed to support screening, prioritization, and evidence collection. Where a capability is described as provisional, use it as a decision-support signal and validate the result against specialist or authoritative sources before making regulated, financial, or operational commitments.