USGS EROS Archive - Landsat Archives - Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) and TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor)

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Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS acquired
May 17, 2014 (Path 16,
Row 37)
(Public domain)

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) are instruments onboard the Landsat 8 satellite, which was launched in February of 2013. The satellite collects images of the Earth with a 16-day repeat cycle, referenced to the Worldwide Reference System-2. The satellite’s acquisitions are in an 8-day offset to Landsat 7 (see Landsat Aquisition). The approximate scene size is 170 km north-south by 183 km east-west (106 mi by 114 mi).

The spectral bands of the OLI sensor, while similar to Landsat 7’s ETM+ sensor, provide enhancement from prior Landsat instruments, with the addition of two new spectral bands: a deep blue visible channel (band 1) specifically designed for water resources and coastal zone investigation, and a new infrared channel (band 9) for the detection of cirrus clouds. Two thermal bands (TIRS) capture data with a minimum of 100 meter resolution, but are registered to and delivered with the 30-meter OLI data product. (See Landsat satellite band designations for more information.) Landsat 8 file sizes are larger than Landsat 7 data, due to additional bands and improved 16-bit data product.  

Landsat 8 Level 1 data products typically include data from both the OLI and TIRS sensor; however, there may be OLI-only and/or TIRS-only scenes in the USGS archive. The first two values of the Landsat 8 scene ID designates the data provided in each scene:

LC08_L1TP_003055_20170207_20170216_01_T1 = Combined (both OLI and TIRS data)
LO08_L1TP_021047_20150304_20170227_01_T1 = OLI data only
LT08_L1GT_137206_20170202_20170215_01_T2 = TIRS data only

A Quality Assurance (QA.tif) band is also included. This file provides bit information regarding conditions that may affect the accuracy and usability of a given pixel – clouds, water or snow, for example. 

LandsatLook Images (full resolution files) are also available for Landsat 8 scenes, as they are for all previous Landsat scenes. In addition to the Natural Color, Thermal, and Geographic Reference bundle files available, Landsat 8 scenes also include a Quality .png file. This provides a visual representation the QA.tif file. See LandsatLook images for detailes.

Nearly 10,000 scenes were collected prior to the satellite achieving operational orbit, from launch to April 10, 2013. The earliest images are TIRS data only. These data are included in the Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS C1 Level-1 data set on EarthExplorer. While these data meet the quality standards and have the same geometric precision as data acquired after achieving operational orbit, the geographic extents of each scene will differ. Most of the scenes will process to full terrain correction, with a pixel size of 30 meters. There may be some differences in the spatial resolution of the early TIRS images due to telescope temperature changes.    

Standard Processing Parameters

Following parameters applied for Processing and L1T Terrain Correction*.

Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Collection 1

Landsat Tiers are the inventory structure for Landsat Collection 1 Level-1 data products and are based on data quality and level of processing. All scenes in the Landsat archive are assigned to a Collection category. The purpose of Collection categories is to support rapid and easy identification of suitable scenes for time-series pixel level analysis. During Collection 1 reprocessing, all Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS scenes in the USGS archive are assigned to a specific “Tier”. These data have well-characterized radiometric quality and are cross-calibrated ​among the different Landsat sensors.​​​

Collection Category (Tier)

• Tier 1 (T1) – Contains the highest quality Level-1 Precision Terrain (L1TP) data considered suitable for time-series analysis. The georegistration is consistent and within prescribed tolerances [<12m root mean square error (RMSE)].
• Tier 2 (T2) – Contains L1TP scenes not meeting Tier 1 criteria and all Systematic Terrain (L1GT) and Systematic (L1GS) scenes. Users interested in Tier 2 scenes can evaluate the L1TP RMSE and other properties to determine suitability for use in their applications and studies.
• Real-Time (RT) – Contains newly acquired Landsat 8 scenes, which require a period of evaluation and calibration adjustment after acquisition but are processed immediately based on preliminary calibration coefficients, assigned to the temporary RT Tier, and made available for download. When definitive calibration information becomes available, these scenes are reprocessed, assigned to the appropriate Tier 1 or Tier 2 category, and removed from the RT Tier (Temporary designation).

The Landsat Collections web page contains additional information about changes applied to Landsat Level-1 data products for Collection 1.

Coverage Maps

Coverage Maps indicating the availability of Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Colection 1 products are available for download.

• Download shapefile 
• Download kml 

Additional Information

• USGS Landsat - Earth Obersvations Satellites Fact Sheet
• Landsat Homepage 
• Landsat FAQs 
• Project Documentation 
• Landsat 8 Data User Handbook 
• Landsat Collections 

Access Data

Landsat 8 scenes held in the USGS archive can be searched using EarthExplorer, the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (GloVis), or the LandsatLook Viewer. On EarthExplorer, Landsat 8 scenes can be found under the Landsat menu in the “Landsat Collection 1 Level-1” section, in the “Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS C1 Level-1” dataset.

Newly acquired Landsat 8 scenes become available for search and download within 24 hours after data acquisition. To view real-time acquisitions of Landsat 8, please visit EarthNow!

Data is delivered from the USGS only in digital format, with the parameters noted above. There are several commercial firms that may provide data in different formats.

Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number: /10.5066/F71835S6