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USGS EROS Archive - Landsat - Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Science Product

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By Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center August 28, 2018

Landsat Collection 1 Level- 3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) data contains an acquisition-based per-pixel snow cover fraction, an acquisition-based revised cloud mask for quality assessment, and a product metadata file.

NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. Landsat Collection 2 remains available. Please access the Landsat Collection 2 webpage below for information about Collection 2 data and science products. 

Visit the Landsat Collection 2 webpage.

Back to Product Overview

Dataset Citation

Please cite this dataset in the following manner:
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2018). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 1 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DS5

NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. The information on this webpage is for reference only. 

Landsat Level-2 SR and Level-3 fractional Snow Covered Area Side by Side
Side-by-side images over Crater Mountain, Lassen National Forest, CA of Landsat Surface Reflectance (SR) Analysis Ready Data (ARD) tile (Left Image) and Landsat Level-3 fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Science Product tile-based image (Right Image) derived from Landsat 8 ARD Tile Horizontal 003, Vertical 07, April 27, 2017(Public domain)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers Landsat Level- 3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) data for Landsat 8-9 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (TM).  Landsat fSCA contains an acquisition-based per-pixel snow cover fraction, an acquisition-based revised cloud mask for quality assessment, and a product metadata file.

Landsat fSCA science products are generated from U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Surface Reflectance (SR) 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. These data are processed to the highest scientific standards and can be used directly in monitoring and assessing landscape change.

The following date ranges apply to the availability of the Landsat fSCA science product:

  • Landsat 8-9 OLI: April 2013 to December 31, 2021*
  • Landsat 7 ETM+: July 1999 to December 31, 2021*
  • Landsat 5 TM: March 1984 to May 2012
  • Landsat 4 TM: March 1984 to July 1993

   *As of January 1, 2022, newly-acquired Landsat data are processed into Landsat Collection 2 only.

fSCA products are available for 144 ARD tile locations over the western conterminous United States (CONUS)and 115 ARD tile locations over Alaska (Figs 1 and 2). 

fSCA products available for 144 CONUS and 115 AK ARD Tiles
(Public domain)

Most Landsat Collection 1 Level-1 scenes can be processed to generate the fSCA product. In addition to the caveats listed on the Landsat ARD and Surface Reflectance web pages, please note the following:

  • The scale factor in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) file for the SNOW band is incorrectly defined. The scale factor should be 0.001 instead of the current 0.0001. The valid range for these fractions when unscaled should be between 0.0 and 1.0.
  • The fSCA algorithm tends to classify water boundaries as snow in some regions.
  • The fSCA algorithm uses the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2011 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 an area due to fire, logging, urbanization, etc., the canopy-adjusted results may have issues with accuracy.

Additional Information

Access Data

Landsat Collection 1 no longer available.

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. (2018). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 1 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DS5

The previously used citation shown below is provided here for historical reference only:
U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation And Science Center. (2018). Collection-1 Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (FSCA) Science Product [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DS5

Landsat Collection 1 Level- 3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) data contains an acquisition-based per-pixel snow cover fraction, an acquisition-based revised cloud mask for quality assessment, and a product metadata file.

NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. Landsat Collection 2 remains available. Please access the Landsat Collection 2 webpage below for information about Collection 2 data and science products. 

Visit the Landsat Collection 2 webpage.

Back to Product Overview

Dataset Citation

Please cite this dataset in the following manner:
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. (2018). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 1 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DS5

NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. The information on this webpage is for reference only. 

Landsat Level-2 SR and Level-3 fractional Snow Covered Area Side by Side
Side-by-side images over Crater Mountain, Lassen National Forest, CA of Landsat Surface Reflectance (SR) Analysis Ready Data (ARD) tile (Left Image) and Landsat Level-3 fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) Science Product tile-based image (Right Image) derived from Landsat 8 ARD Tile Horizontal 003, Vertical 07, April 27, 2017(Public domain)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers Landsat Level- 3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (fSCA) data for Landsat 8-9 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper (TM).  Landsat fSCA contains an acquisition-based per-pixel snow cover fraction, an acquisition-based revised cloud mask for quality assessment, and a product metadata file.

Landsat fSCA science products are generated from U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Surface Reflectance (SR) 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. These data are processed to the highest scientific standards and can be used directly in monitoring and assessing landscape change.

The following date ranges apply to the availability of the Landsat fSCA science product:

  • Landsat 8-9 OLI: April 2013 to December 31, 2021*
  • Landsat 7 ETM+: July 1999 to December 31, 2021*
  • Landsat 5 TM: March 1984 to May 2012
  • Landsat 4 TM: March 1984 to July 1993

   *As of January 1, 2022, newly-acquired Landsat data are processed into Landsat Collection 2 only.

fSCA products are available for 144 ARD tile locations over the western conterminous United States (CONUS)and 115 ARD tile locations over Alaska (Figs 1 and 2). 

fSCA products available for 144 CONUS and 115 AK ARD Tiles
(Public domain)

Most Landsat Collection 1 Level-1 scenes can be processed to generate the fSCA product. In addition to the caveats listed on the Landsat ARD and Surface Reflectance web pages, please note the following:

  • The scale factor in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) file for the SNOW band is incorrectly defined. The scale factor should be 0.001 instead of the current 0.0001. The valid range for these fractions when unscaled should be between 0.0 and 1.0.
  • The fSCA algorithm tends to classify water boundaries as snow in some regions.
  • The fSCA algorithm uses the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2011 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 an area due to fire, logging, urbanization, etc., the canopy-adjusted results may have issues with accuracy.

Additional Information

Access Data

Landsat Collection 1 no longer available.

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. (2018). Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area, Collection 1 [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DS5

The previously used citation shown below is provided here for historical reference only:
U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation And Science Center. (2018). Collection-1 Landsat Level-3 Fractional Snow Covered Area (FSCA) Science Product [dataset]. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DS5

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