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Landsat Provisional Aquatic Reflectance

By Landsat Missions

Landsat Level-2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance (AR) are provisional science products with the potential to make a valuable contribution to aquatic science and environmental monitoring capabilities for aquatic ecosystems, especially in coastal environments and inland waters.

Collection 2

Example of the Landsat 8-9 Collection 2 Provisional Aquatic Reflectance Science Product

Products created from data acquired from April 2013 to present for Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. Global coverage

Access Collection 2 Information

Previous Landsat Collections

Return to Landsat Science Products Overview

Landsat’s medium spatial resolution provides the capability to map optically active components of upper water column in inland and near-shore waters. Ocean color, defined as the spectral distribution of reflected visible solar radiation upwelling from beneath the water surface, has revolutionized the field of aquatic remote sensing research. The applications of ocean color remote sensing are extensive and fundamental to understanding and monitoring both marine and freshwater ecosystems.

Landsat Provisional AR Science Products have the potential to make a valuable contribution to aquatic science and environmental monitoring capabilities including water quality monitoring, hydrographic surveying, satellite-derived bathymetry, sea-floor classification, optimal water type characterization, and temporal phenology.

The table below displays how different communities use Landsat Provisional AR science products in their research. 

Community Potential Use
USGS Water Resources Mission, Lake Resource Managers, Fisheries and Marine Institutes Water quality monitoring, algal bloom mapping, sediment runoff modeling and forecasting
EPA (CyAN program) Algal bloom mapping, identification of impacted water bodies
NASA, NOAA Coastal and ocean color monitoring programs, CyAN, calibration/validation
Hydrographic Survey Satellite-derived bathymetry, seafloor classification, coastal dynamics
Citizen Science Education, solicitation, verification