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October 10, 2014 - Upcoming Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance Data Products

By Landsat Missions

As announced in the latest Landsat Update, prototype Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance product options will be available to all users via the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Science Processing Architecture (ESPA) On Demand Interface in the upcoming months.

Landsat 8 will not be processed with the Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System (LEDAPS) that is used for Landsat 4, 5 and 7 SR data. A new algorithm has been developed to take advantage of Landsat 8’s unique characteristics.

The original L8 SR code was written in FORTRAN and output only SR. The USGS EROS translation to a C version adds options for TOA reflectance and SR-based spectral indices. All Landsat 8 scenes will be processed to SR products, including pre-WRS2; however, scenes with a solar zenith angle greater than 76 degrees can be corrected only to TOA reflectance.

More details about the upcoming L8 SR data, as well as a better known timeframe of availability, will be provided on this site. Relevant documentation will also be made available before public release.