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Publications

Filter Total Items: 143

Monitoring polar ice change in the twilight zone Monitoring polar ice change in the twilight zone

Landsat’s new extended data collection program is mapping Arctic and Antarctic regions year-round, even in polar twilight.
Authors
Theodore A. Scambos, Christopher Shuman, Mark Fahnestock, Tasha Snow, Christopher J. Crawford

Need and vision for global medium-resolution Landsat and Sentinel-2 data products Need and vision for global medium-resolution Landsat and Sentinel-2 data products

Global changes in climate and land use are threatening natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the ecosystem services people rely on. This is why it is necessary to track and monitor spatiotemporal change at a level of detail that can inform science, management, and policy development. The current constellation of multiple Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites collecting imagery at...
Authors
Volker C. Radeloff, David P. Roy, Mike Wulder, Martha Anderson, Bruce D. Cook, Christopher J. Crawford, Mark Friedl, Feng Gao, Noel Gorelick, Matthew Hansen, Sean Healey, Patrick Hostert, Glynn Hulley, Justin Huntington, Dave Johnson, Christopher Neigh, Alexei Lyapustin, Leo Lymburner, Nima Pahlevan, Jean-Francois Pekel, Theodore A. Scambos, Crystal Schaaf, Peter Strobl, Eric Vermote, Curtis Woodcock, Hankui K. Zhang, Zhe Zhu

Operational aspects of Landsat 8 and 9 geometry Operational aspects of Landsat 8 and 9 geometry

Landsat 9 (L9) was launched on 27 September 2021. This spacecraft contained two instruments, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) and Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2), that allow for a continuation of the Landsat program and the mission to acquire multi-spectral observations of the globe on a moderate scale. Following a period of commissioning, during which time the spacecraft and...
Authors
Michael J. Choate, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Nahid Hasan, Alex Denevan, Kathryn Ruslander

The 50-year Landsat collection 2 archive The 50-year Landsat collection 2 archive

The Landsat global consolidated data archive now exceeds 50 years. In recognition of the need for consistently processed data across the Landsat satellite series, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated collection-based processing of the entire archive that was processed as Collection 1 in 2016. In preparation for the data from the now successfully launched Landsat 9, the USGS...
Authors
Christopher J. Crawford, David P. Roy, Saeed Arab, Christopher Barnes, Eric Vermote, Glynn Hulley, Aaron Gerace, Michael J. Choate, Christopher Engebretson, Esad Micijevic, Gail L. Schmidt, Cody Anderson, Martha Anderson, Michelle Bouchard, Bruce D. Cook, Ray Dittmeier, Danny Howard, Calli Jenkerson, Minsu Kim, Tania Kleyians, Tom Maiersperger, Chase Mueller, Christopher Neigh, Linda Owen, Benjamin Page, Nima Pahelvan, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Jean-Claude Roger, Kristi L. Sayler, Pat L Scaramuzza, Sergii Skakun, Lin Yan, Hankui K. Zhang, Zhe Zhu, Stephen G. Zahn

Calibration and validation for the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission concept: Recommendations for a multi-sensor system for imaging spectroscopy and thermal imagery Calibration and validation for the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission concept: Recommendations for a multi-sensor system for imaging spectroscopy and thermal imagery

The primary objective of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission is to measure biological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical features of the Earth's surface, realizing a key conceptual component of the envisioned NASA Earth System Observatory (ESO). SBG is planned to launch as a two-platform mission in the late 2020s, the...
Authors
Kevin R. Turpie, Kimberly Ann Casey, Christopher J. Crawford, Liane S Guild, Hugh H. Kieffer, Guoqing Lin, Raymond F. Kokaly, Alok Shrestha, Cody Anderson, Shankar N. Ramaseri Chandra, Robert O. Green, Simon Hook, Constantine Lukashin, Kurt Thome

Guidelines for calibration of uncrewed aircraft systems imagery Guidelines for calibration of uncrewed aircraft systems imagery

Executive Summary This report outlines quality assurance (QA) processes, including radiometric and geometric calibration guidelines, and guidelines for data acquisition and quality control to be followed by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers for acquiring and processing uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) data. These QA processes ensure that UAS data can be used for quantitative...
Authors
Aparajithan Sampath, Mahesh Shrestha, Michelle While, Victoria Mary Scholl

ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 1, 2023 ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 1, 2023

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat...
Authors
Md Obaidul Haque, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Mark Lubke, Nahid Hasan, Ashish Shrestha, Fatima Tuz Zafrin Tuli, Jerad L. Shaw, Alex Denevan, Shannon Franks, Esad Micijevic, Michael J. Choate, Cody Anderson, Kurt Thome, Ed Kaita, Julia Barsi, Raviv Levy, Jeff Miller

Landsat 9 geometric commissioning calibration updates and system performance assessment Landsat 9 geometric commissioning calibration updates and system performance assessment

Starting with launch of Landsat 7 (L7) on 15 April 1999, the USGS Landsat Image Assessment System (IAS) has been performing calibration and characterization operations for over 20 years on the Landsat spacecrafts and their associated payloads. With the launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021, that spacecraft and its payloads, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) and Thermal...
Authors
Michael J. Choate, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, James Storey, Mark Lubke

Assessment of public and private land cover change in the United States from 1985–2018 Assessment of public and private land cover change in the United States from 1985–2018

An assessment of annual land cover on publicly and privately managed lands across the conterminous United States (CONUS) from 1985–2018 was performed, including land cover conversions within their management category, to inform future policy and land-use decision-making in natural resource management. Synthesizing land cover data with land management delineations aids our ability to...
Authors
Nathan C. Healey, Janis L. Taylor, Roger F. Auch

Evaluation of Copernicus DEM and comparison to the DEM used for Landsat collection-2 processing Evaluation of Copernicus DEM and comparison to the DEM used for Landsat collection-2 processing

Having highly accurate and reliable Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of the Earth’s surface is critical to orthorectify Landsat imagery. Without such accuracy, pixel locations reported in the data are difficult to assure as accurate, especially in more mountainous landscapes, where the orthorectification process is the most challenging. To this end, the Landsat Calibration and Validation...
Authors
Shannon Franks, Rajagopalan Rengarajan

ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 3, 2022 ECCOE Landsat quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 3, 2022

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat...
Authors
Obaidul Haque, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Mark Lubke, Nahid Hasan, Ashish Shrestha, Fatima Tuz Zafrin Tuli, Jerad L. Shaw, Alex Denevan, Shannon Franks, Esad Micijevic, Mike Choate, Cody Anderson, Kurt Thome, Ed Kaita, Julia Barsi, Raviv Levy, Jeff Miller

Toward consistent change detection across irregular remote sensing time series observations Toward consistent change detection across irregular remote sensing time series observations

The use of remote sensing in time series analysis enables wall-to-wall monitoring of the land surface and is critical for assessing and understanding land cover and land use change and for understanding the Earth system as a whole. However, variability in remote sensing observation frequency through time and across space presents challenges for producing consistent change detection...
Authors
Heather J. Tollerud, Zhe Zhu, Kelcy Smith, Danika F. Wellington, Reza Hussain, Donna Viola
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