We have the Sentinel 2 images since 2015, and with a resolution of 10 meters you can do an infinite number of things that will impress us.
Previously we saw how to download the Sentinel images, but now we present a summary of the most common combinations of the Sentinel 2 spectral bands in channels such as red, green, blue (RGB).
List of main band combinations in Sentinel 2
| Combinations | R | G | B |
| Natural Colors | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| False color Infrared | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| False color Urban | 12 | 11 | 4 |
| Agriculture | 11 | 8 | 2 |
| Atmospheric penetration | 12 | 11 | 8a |
| Healthy vegetation | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| Land/Water | 8 | 11 | 4 |
| Natural Colors with Atmospheric Removal | 12 | 8 | 3 |
| Shortwave Infrared | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Vegetation Analysis | 11 | 8 | 4 |
Below are two examples of combinations for atmospheric penetration (12-11-8a), and agriculture (11-8-2).
Applications such as ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, gvSIG, Envi, Erdas, QGIS, etc., have the tools to execute this procedure.
In general it is possible to make the combinations that our imagination allows, but it is also necessary to know the details of each band.
For more information on the features of Sentinel 2A and Sentinel 2B, review the following tables taken from Earth Observing System.
Sentinel-2A – Sensor: MSI
| No. | Band name | Central wavelength (nm) | Bandwidth (nm) | Resolution (m) |
| 1 | Coastal aerosol | 443.9 | 27 | 60 |
| 2 | Blue | 496.6 | 98 | 10 |
| 3 | Green | 560 | 45 | 10 |
| 4 | Red | 664.5 | 38 | 10 |
| 5 | Vegetation Red Edge | 703.9 | 19 | 20 |
| 6 | Vegetation Red Edge | 740.2 | 18 | 20 |
| 7 | Vegetation Red Edge | 782.5 | 28 | 20 |
| 8 | NIR | 835.1 | 145 | 10 |
| 8a | Narrow NIR | 864.8 | 33 | 20 |
| 9 | Water vapour | 945 | 26 | 60 |
| 10 | SWIR – Cirrus | 1373.5 | 75 | 60 |
| 11 | SWIR | 1613.7 | 143 | 20 |
| 12 | SWIR | 2202.4 | 242 | 20 |
Sentinel-2B – Sensor: MSI
| No. | Band name | Central wavelength (nm) | Bandwidth (nm) | Resolution (m) |
| 1 | Coastal aerosol | 442.3 | 45 | 60 |
| 2 | Blue | 492.1 | 98 | 10 |
| 3 | Green | 559 | 46 | 10 |
| 4 | Red | 665 | 39 | 10 |
| 5 | Vegetation Red Edge | 703.8 | 20 | 20 |
| 6 | Vegetation Red Edge | 739.1 | 18 | 20 |
| 7 | Vegetation Red Edge | 779.7 | 28 | 20 |
| 8 | NIR | 833 | 45 | 10 |
| 8a | Narrow NIR | 864 | 32 | 20 |
| 9 | Water vapour | 943.2 | 27 | 60 |
| 10 | SWIR – Cirrus | 1376.9 | 76 | 60 |
| 11 | SWIR | 1610.4 | 141 | 20 |
| 12 | SWIR | 2185.7 | 238 | 20 |