The Problem With Satellite Imagery in Alaska
Cloud cover, low sun angles, snow — why satellite imagery in Alaska is harder than anywhere else in the US.
Satellite imagery works great for Arizona. Alaska is different.
Cloud cover. Many regions see 60–80% cloud cover year-round. A single-scene acquisition might be useless. Mosaics help but introduce seams and date inconsistencies.
Low sun angles. In winter, the sun barely clears the horizon. Long shadows, low contrast, and sensor limitations make snow and ice hard to distinguish from cloud. Spring and fall melt creates a muddy transition that’s tough to classify.
Snow. Persistent snow cover masks terrain. Vegetation, trails, and water bodies disappear. For six months, a "current" image might show nothing but white.
What we do. We aggregate multiple sources — Sentinel-2, Landsat, NAIP where available — and let users switch basemaps. We’re also exploring radar (Sentinel-1) for all-weather terrain. No single source solves Alaska; layers and options do.