Natural Resources, School of

 

Authors

David P. Roy, South Dakota State UniversityFollow
M. A. Wulder, Canadian Forest Service (Pacific Forestry Centre)
T. R. Loveland, U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD
C. E. Woodcock, Boston UniversityFollow
R. G. Allen, University of Idaho Research and Extension Center, Kimberly, ID
M. C. Anderson, USDA-ARSFollow
D. Helder, South Dakota State UniversityFollow
J. R. Irons, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
D. M. Johnson, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Fairfax, VA
R. Kennedy, Boston University
T. A. Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of ColoradoFollow
C. B. Schaaf, University of Massachusetts Boston
J. R. Schott, Rochester Institute of TechnologyFollow
Y. Sheng, University of California, Los Angeles
E. F. Vermote, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
A. S. Belward, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability
R. Bindschadler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
W. B. Cohen, USDA Forest Service, Corvallis, OR
F. Gao, USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, MDFollow
J. D. Hipple, USDA Risk Management Agency, Washington, DC
P. Hostert, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV
C. O. Justice, University of Maryland, College Park
Ayse Kilic, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
V. Kovalskyy, South Dakota State University
Z. P. Lee, University of Massachusetts Boston
L. Lymburner, Geoscience Australia, Canberra
J. G. Masek, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
J. McCorkel, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Y. Shuai, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
R. Trezza, University of Idaho Research and Extension Center, Kimberly
J. Vogelmann, U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SDFollow
R. H. Wynne, Virginia Tech
Z. Zhu, Boston University

ORCID IDs

Ayse Kilic

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

Remote Sensing of Environment 145 (2014) 154–172; doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2014.02.001

Comments

This article is a U.S. government work, and is not subject to copyright in the United States.

Abstract

Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, two thermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater number of images per day. This paper introduces the current (2012–2017) Landsat Science Team's efforts to establish an initial understanding of Landsat 8 capabilities and the steps ahead in support of priorities identified by the team. Preliminary evaluation of Landsat 8 capabilities and identification of new science and applications opportunities are described with respect to calibration and radiometric characterization; surface reflectance; surface albedo; surface temperature, evapotranspiration and drought; agriculture; land cover, condition, disturbance and change; fresh and coastal water; and snow and ice. Insights into the development of derived ‘higher-level’ Landsat products are provided in recognition of the growing need for consistently processed, moderate spatial resolution, large area, long-term terrestrial data records for resource management and for climate and global change studies. The paper concludes with future prospects, emphasizing the opportunities for land imaging constellations by combining Landsat data with data collected from other international sensing systems, and consideration of successor Landsat mission requirements.

COinS