Landsat-8 Sensor Characterization and Calibration

Abstract

Landsat-8 was launched on 11 February 2013 with two new Earth Imaging sensors to provide a continued data record with the previous Landsats. For Landsat-8, pushbroom technology was adopted, and the reflective bands and thermal bands were split into two instruments. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) is the reflective band sensor and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), the thermal. In addition to these fundamental changes, bands were added, spectral bandpasses were refined, dynamic range and data quantization were improved, and numerous other enhancements were implemented. As in previous Landsat missions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) cooperated in the development, launch and operation of the Landsat- 8 mission. One key aspect of this cooperation was in the characterization and calibration of the instruments and their data. This Special Issue documents the efforts of the joint USGS and NASA calibration team and affiliates to characterize the new sensors and their data for the benefit of the scientific and application users of the Landsat archive. A key scientific use of Landsat data is to assess changes in the land-use and land cover of the Earth's surface over the now 43-year record. In order to perform these analyses and avoid confusing sensor changes with Earth surface changes, a solid understanding of the sensors' performance, consistent geolocation and radiometry are essential. Particularly with the significant changes in the Landsat-8 sensors relative to previous Landsat missions, this characterization becomes all the more important.