USGS EROS Archive - Landsat Collection 2 Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Science Product
Landsat Collection 2 Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) contains per-pixel fractional snow cover maps that indicate the percentage of a pixel covered by snow.
Dataset Citation
Please cite this dataset in the following manner:
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2022). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 2 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P97ALZ2X
(Public domain)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers Landsat Collection 2 (C2)Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) science products for Landsat 8-9 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (TM).
Landsat C2 fSCA science products are generated from Landsat Collection 2 U.S. Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Surface Reflectance and Top of Atmosphere Reflectance data, processed to 30-meter spatial resolution in Albers Equal Area (AEA) projection using the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) datum, and gridded to a common tiling scheme.
The following date ranges apply to the availability of the Landsat fSCA science product:
- Landsat 8-9 OLI: April 2013 to present
- Landsat 7 ETM+: July 1999 to present
- Landsat 5 TM: March 1984 to May 2012
- Landsat 4 TM: November 1982 to October 1992
Landsat 9 C2 fSCA will become available later in 2022.
The maps below display the C2 ARD tile-based coverage of Landsat C2 fSCA products. The processing of C2 fSCA data has been expanded to include the northern areas of CONUS, and the Aleutian Islands near Alaska.
Most Landsat Collection 2 Level-1 scenes can be processed to generate a fSCA product. In addition to the caveats listed on the Landsat C2 ARD and C2 Surface Reflectance web pages.
- The fSCA algorithm tends to flag water boundaries and dark water pixels as false positives. The fSCA QA is designed to use the Landsat C2 Level 3 DSWE science product to alleviate many of these false-positives.
- The fSCA algorithm uses National Land Cover Database (NLCD) canopy cover and land cover products for canopy adjustment to address canopy covered areas of snow. If the NLCD canopy cover or land cover products are not accurate for a particular area due to fire, logging, urbanization, etc., the canopy-adjusted results may have issues with accuracy.
- The fill value for the viewable snow (VIEWABLE_SNOW) and shade fractions (SCAG_SHADE) fall in the valid data range. Users are advised to use the fill bit in FSCA_QA band to mask NoData pixels.
Collection 2 Fractional Snow Covered Area Product Improvements
- fSCA science product expanded to include northern areas of the U.S.
- fSCA science product expanded to include the Aleutian Islands. Note: The H/V tile grid numbers of the Alaska C2 ARD and ARD-derived products has changed from C1.
- The C1 SNOW band has been expanded in C2 to separate VIEWABLE and GROUND SNOW bands to show whether the SCAG results are adjusted for the canopy cover.
- New Shade fractions (SCAG_SHADE) and SCAG Model Mask (SCAG_MASK) bands have been added.
Additional Information
- Landsat Missions Collection 2 Fractional Snow Covered Area Webpage
- Landsat Collection 2 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Data Format Control Book
- Landsat Fractional Snow Covered Area Algorithm Description Document
Access Data
Landsat Fractional Snow Covered Area products are available for download in full tile bundles or individual files from EarthExplorer. The data are located under the Landsat category, Landsat Collection 2 Level-3 Science Products subcategory, and listed as Landsat 4-9 C2 Fractional Snow Covered Area. Visit the Landsat Data Access webpage for information about downloading C2 fSCA products.
The Landsat Data Access summary table provides information about all Landsat Collection 2 data access options.
Data Citation History
The preferred citation for this dataset was revised in 2024 to improve accuracy and alignment with USGS Fundamental Science Practices. The dataset digital object identifier (DOI) and version did not change.
Please cite this dataset in the following manner:
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2022). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 2 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P97ALZ2X
The previously used citation shown below is provided here for historical reference only:
Earth Resources Observation And Science (EROS) Center. (2022). Collection-2 Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Science Product [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P97ALZ2X
Below are other science projects associated with this product.
USGS EROS Archive - Landsat Archives - Landsat Collection 2 U.S Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Product
Landsat Collection 2 Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) contains per-pixel fractional snow cover maps that indicate the percentage of a pixel covered by snow.
Dataset Citation
Please cite this dataset in the following manner:
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2022). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 2 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P97ALZ2X
(Public domain)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers Landsat Collection 2 (C2)Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) science products for Landsat 8-9 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (TM).
Landsat C2 fSCA science products are generated from Landsat Collection 2 U.S. Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Surface Reflectance and Top of Atmosphere Reflectance data, processed to 30-meter spatial resolution in Albers Equal Area (AEA) projection using the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) datum, and gridded to a common tiling scheme.
The following date ranges apply to the availability of the Landsat fSCA science product:
- Landsat 8-9 OLI: April 2013 to present
- Landsat 7 ETM+: July 1999 to present
- Landsat 5 TM: March 1984 to May 2012
- Landsat 4 TM: November 1982 to October 1992
Landsat 9 C2 fSCA will become available later in 2022.
The maps below display the C2 ARD tile-based coverage of Landsat C2 fSCA products. The processing of C2 fSCA data has been expanded to include the northern areas of CONUS, and the Aleutian Islands near Alaska.
Most Landsat Collection 2 Level-1 scenes can be processed to generate a fSCA product. In addition to the caveats listed on the Landsat C2 ARD and C2 Surface Reflectance web pages.
- The fSCA algorithm tends to flag water boundaries and dark water pixels as false positives. The fSCA QA is designed to use the Landsat C2 Level 3 DSWE science product to alleviate many of these false-positives.
- The fSCA algorithm uses National Land Cover Database (NLCD) canopy cover and land cover products for canopy adjustment to address canopy covered areas of snow. If the NLCD canopy cover or land cover products are not accurate for a particular area due to fire, logging, urbanization, etc., the canopy-adjusted results may have issues with accuracy.
- The fill value for the viewable snow (VIEWABLE_SNOW) and shade fractions (SCAG_SHADE) fall in the valid data range. Users are advised to use the fill bit in FSCA_QA band to mask NoData pixels.
Collection 2 Fractional Snow Covered Area Product Improvements
- fSCA science product expanded to include northern areas of the U.S.
- fSCA science product expanded to include the Aleutian Islands. Note: The H/V tile grid numbers of the Alaska C2 ARD and ARD-derived products has changed from C1.
- The C1 SNOW band has been expanded in C2 to separate VIEWABLE and GROUND SNOW bands to show whether the SCAG results are adjusted for the canopy cover.
- New Shade fractions (SCAG_SHADE) and SCAG Model Mask (SCAG_MASK) bands have been added.
Additional Information
- Landsat Missions Collection 2 Fractional Snow Covered Area Webpage
- Landsat Collection 2 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Data Format Control Book
- Landsat Fractional Snow Covered Area Algorithm Description Document
Access Data
Landsat Fractional Snow Covered Area products are available for download in full tile bundles or individual files from EarthExplorer. The data are located under the Landsat category, Landsat Collection 2 Level-3 Science Products subcategory, and listed as Landsat 4-9 C2 Fractional Snow Covered Area. Visit the Landsat Data Access webpage for information about downloading C2 fSCA products.
The Landsat Data Access summary table provides information about all Landsat Collection 2 data access options.
Data Citation History
The preferred citation for this dataset was revised in 2024 to improve accuracy and alignment with USGS Fundamental Science Practices. The dataset digital object identifier (DOI) and version did not change.
Please cite this dataset in the following manner:
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2022). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 2 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P97ALZ2X
The previously used citation shown below is provided here for historical reference only:
Earth Resources Observation And Science (EROS) Center. (2022). Collection-2 Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Science Product [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P97ALZ2X
Below are other science projects associated with this product.