> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit/more/all-tools/index-database.md).
# Index Database
## URL
## Description
A searchable web database of remote sensing indices (e.g. metrics for things like vegetation health, land use, water stress) that allows users to search for relevant satellite sensors for a given application. This search may also be inverted, listing the indices it's possible to calculate from a given remote sensing dataset. The database also links different indices to their respective applications, providing references to academic literature demonstrating their usage.
## Cost
* [x] Free
* [ ] Partially Free
* [ ] Paid
## Level of difficulty
The Index Database interface is not difficult to use: the difficulty rating reflects the contextual understanding necessary to apply the indices to produce useful imagery that accomplishes what the user intends.
## Requirements
Just a web browser to use the database, however you will need access to corresponding remote sensing data in order to apply the index to produce any data or imagery.
## Limitations
The index lists sensors, and not the datasets linked to each sensor -- so if you're interested in using the data there is a secondary step of searching for the dataset, which may or may not be freely available and/or accessible. Indices are listed with relevant applications and references to academic literature, however it may take some reading to work out what is right for your application.
The index does not appear to be under active development, and the researchers whose contact details are listed did not respond to a query as to whether the tool was still active. As the data listed relate to physical properties of materials, they aren't liable to go 'out of date', but it's possible that some indices might be superseded by more recent research, the satellites referred to will go out of date, and that the index will become less exhaustive over time.
## Ethical Considerations
Like any tool related to or making use of remote sensing data, the ethical considerations of IDB relate primarily to accuracy, and the broader systemic effects of developing systems for monitoring/understanding an environment or a social system that are based remotely and don't have a lot to do with the people and ecology there. It's always worth thinking about the basis for claims that are made using these tools.
## Guide
Examples of use cases for various band indices:
## Tool provider
Verena Henricht and Ktharina Brüser, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES)
## Advertising Trackers
* [ ] This tool has not been checked for advertising trackers yet.
* [x] This tool uses tracking cookies. Use with caution.
* [ ] This tool does not appear to use tracking cookies.
| Page maintainer |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Bellingcat Volunteer Team. Updated by Nathan Burke in June 2026. |
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