Landsat 8 will ensure the continued acquisition and availability of Landsat data with instruments that will collect image data for nine shortwave bands and two longwave thermal bands.
Landsat 8 LDCM was launched by NASA on 11th February 2013 from the Vanderberg Air Force Base, California. The joint Landsat Program of NASA and USGS sees the launch of Landsat 8 LDCM as the continuation of 30-plus years of global data collection and distribution. The data from the program constitute the longest continuous record of the Earth’s surface as seen from space.
| Resolution |
15m Panchromatic Operational Land Imager (OLI) 30m Multispectral OLI 30m Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) resampled |
|---|---|
| Scene Size | 170km x 185 km |
| Bands |
Coastal Aerosol 427-459nm Blue 436-528nm Green 513-611nm Red 626-692nm NIR 830-901nm SWIR1 1516-1699nm SWIR2 2038-2356nm Pan 488-693nm Cirrus 1341-1410nm
|
| Archive Availability | From 11 April, 2013 |
| Programmable? | No |
| Minimum area of purchase | Varies from source |
| Stereo available? | No |
| Largest Scale | 1:40,000 - pansharpened 15m 1:80,000 - OLI |
| Bit depth | 12 bits |
| Applications | Spectral processing for mineral exploration Vegetation analysis Large regional coverage Extensive archive for change detection Availability of imagery over cloud affected areas Minimal expense, medium resolution dataset |
Landsat 8 LDCM Updates:
Landsat 8 LDCM differs from its predecessor Landsat 7 ETM+ with the addition of 2 new spectral bands; Coastal Aerosol (band 1), designed to investigate water resources and coastal zones, and Cirrus (band 9) a new infrared channel for the detection of cirrus clouds. The data and radiometric quality is a marked improvement at 12-bits in comparison to previous Landsat instrumetns at 8-bits. Within one day Landsat 8 LDCM will have collected 400 scenes and placed in the USGS archive to become available within 24 hours of acquisition.
Uses of the new bands
Coastal Aerosol band (band 1) allows closer investigation of atmospheric aerosol concentrations, as well as, coastal waters relative to MODIS and SeaWIFS sensors.
Cirrus band (band 9) is designed to provide a more comprehensive detection of cirrus cloud contamination an indicator to atmospheric contamination. In addition, the use of the cirrus band will allow for improved cloud masking and haze removal processing techniques important over tropical and sub-tropical environments.
Comparison of Landsat 7 to Landsat 8
