Science of Remote Sensing (Dec 2023)
The 50-year Landsat collection 2 archive
- Christopher J. Crawford,
- David P. Roy,
- Saeed Arab,
- Christopher Barnes,
- Eric Vermote,
- Glynn Hulley,
- Aaron Gerace,
- Mike Choate,
- Christopher Engebretson,
- Esad Micijevic,
- Gail Schmidt,
- Cody Anderson,
- Martha Anderson,
- Michelle Bouchard,
- Bruce Cook,
- Ray Dittmeier,
- Danny Howard,
- Calli Jenkerson,
- Minsu Kim,
- Tania Kleyians,
- Thomas Maiersperger,
- Chase Mueller,
- Christopher Neigh,
- Linda Owen,
- Benjamin Page,
- Nima Pahlevan,
- Rajagopalan Rengarajan,
- Jean-Claude Roger,
- Kristi Sayler,
- Pat Scaramuzza,
- Sergii Skakun,
- Lin Yan,
- Hankui K. Zhang,
- Zhe Zhu,
- Steve Zahn
Affiliations
- Christopher J. Crawford
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA; Corresponding author.
- David P. Roy
- Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA; Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Saeed Arab
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Christopher Barnes
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Eric Vermote
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 619, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- Glynn Hulley
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
- Aaron Gerace
- Rochester Institute of Technology, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
- Mike Choate
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Christopher Engebretson
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Esad Micijevic
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Gail Schmidt
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Cody Anderson
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Martha Anderson
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
- Michelle Bouchard
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Bruce Cook
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 618, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- Ray Dittmeier
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Danny Howard
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Calli Jenkerson
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Minsu Kim
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Tania Kleyians
- Rochester Institute of Technology, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
- Thomas Maiersperger
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Chase Mueller
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Christopher Neigh
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 618, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- Linda Owen
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Benjamin Page
- Earth Space Technology Services (ESTS), Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Nima Pahlevan
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 619, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA; Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Lanham, MD, 20706, USA
- Rajagopalan Rengarajan
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Jean-Claude Roger
- Department of Geographical Sciences, College of Information Studies (iSchool), University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, MD, USA
- Kristi Sayler
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Pat Scaramuzza
- KBR Contractor to the USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Sergii Skakun
- Department of Geographical Sciences, College of Information Studies (iSchool), University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, MD, USA
- Lin Yan
- Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Hankui K. Zhang
- Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence, Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA
- Zhe Zhu
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
- Steve Zahn
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD, 57198, USA
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 8
p. 100103
Abstract
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 reprocessed the Landsat archive as Collection 2 in 2020. This paper describes the rationale for, and the contents and advancements provided by Collection 2, and highlights the differences between the Collection 1 and Collection 2 products. Notably, the Collection 2 products have improved geolocation and, for the first time, the USGS provides a global inventory of Level 2 surface reflectance and surface temperature products. Also for the first time, the USGS used a commercial cloud computing architecture to efficiently process the archive and enable direct cloud access of the Landsat products. The paper concludes with discussion of likely improvements expected in Collection 3 in preparation for the Landsat Next mission that is planned for launch in the early 2030s.