LCMAP Collection 1.2 Science Products

Left: A Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) false color composite, created using short-wave infrared, near infrared, and red bands (Bands 7, 5, 4), acquired November 2020 over the Castle (SQF Complex) Fire in California. Vegetation is shown in shades of green, active fire appears orange, and the subsequent burn scar shows as a reddish-brown color.   

Middle: The Collection 1.2 Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) Time of Spectral Change (SCTIME) product shows the timing of a spectral change within 2020, defined as a “break” in the Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) time series model, where spectral observations have diverged from model predictions, grouped here by month. Notice both the Landsat ARD time series and SCTIME image show the progression of the fire from August (green), spreading north into Sequoia National Park by the end of September (purple).   

Right: The Collection 1.2 LCMAP Spectral Stability Period (SCSTAB) product represents the length, in days, of the time series model in effect as of July 1, 2020. Note that most of the areas burned in the fire had been stable for the entirety of the LCMAP time period, which now covers 36 years of data. This is not surprising, as parts of this area include groves of Sequoia trees, some of which are thousands of years old. A study by the National Park Service suggests that 10 – 14% of large sequoias in the Sierra Nevadas may have been killed in the 2020 Castle Fire.