BOREAS Level-3s Landsat TM Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in LGSOWG Format Summary: For BOREAS, the level-3s Landsat TM data, along with the other remotely sensed images, were collected in order to provide spatially extensive information over the primary study areas. This information includes radiant energy, detailed land cover, and biophysical parameter maps such as FPAR and LAI. CCRS collected and supplied the level-3s images to BOREAS for use in the remote sensing research activities. Geographically, the bulk of the level-3s images cover the BOREAS NSA and SSA with a few images covering the area between the NSA and SSA. Temporally, the images cover the period of 22-Jun-1984 to 30-Jul-1996. Table of Contents * 1 Data Set Overview * 2 Investigator(s) * 3 Theory of Measurements * 4 Equipment * 5 Data Acquisition Methods * 6 Observations * 7 Data Description * 8 Data Organization * 9 Data Manipulations * 10 Errors * 11 Notes * 12 Application of the Data Set * 13 Future Modifications and Plans * 14 Software * 15 Data Access * 16 Output Products and Availability * 17 References * 18 Glossary of Terms * 19 List of Acronyms * 20 Document Information 1. Data Set Overview 1.1 Data Set Identification BOREAS Level-3s Landsat TM Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in LGSOWG Format 1.2 Data Set Introduction The BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Staff Science effort covered those activities that were BOREAS community-level activities, or required uniform data collection procedures across sites and time. These activities included the acquisition of the relevant satellite data. Data from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) instruments on the Landsat satellites were acquired by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) and provided for use by BOREAS researchers. 1.3 Objective/Purpose For BOREAS, the Landsat TM imagery, along with the other remotely sensed images, was collected in order to provide spatially extensive information over the primary study areas. This information includes detailed land cover and biophysical parameter maps such as biomass, Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR), and Leaf Area Index (LAI). 1.4 Summary of Parameters Landsat TM level-3s data in the BOREAS Information System (BORIS) contains the following parameters: Original image header information, image coordinates, gains and offsets for each band for at-sensor radiance derivations, image bands 1 to 7 processed with systematic spatial corrections. 1.5 Discussion Use and distribution of the level-3s Landsat TM images are subject to copyright restrictions. CCRS and Radarsat International (RSI) granted permission to BOREAS to place a subset of the level-3a Landsat TM images on the BOREAS CD-ROM series; however, none of the level-3b images are included. The level-3s images may not be available for public access. Please see Sections 15 and 16 for further details. BORIS staff processed the Landsat TM level-3s imagery by: 1) Extracting pertinent header information from the level-3s image product and placing it in an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) file on disk, 2) Reading the information in the ASCII disk file and loading the on-line data base with pertinent information. 1.6 Related Data Sets BOREAS Level-3a Landsat TM Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in BSQ Format BOREAS Level-3b Landsat TM Imagery: At-sensor Radiances in BSQ Format BOREAS Level-3p Landsat TM Imagery: Geocoded and Scaled At-sensor Radiance BOREAS Level-3s SPOT Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in LGSOWG Format 2. Investigator(s) 2.1 Investigator(s) Name and Title BOREAS Staff Science 2.2 Title of Investigation BOREAS Staff Science Satellite Data Acquisition Program 2.3 Contact Information Contact 1 ---------- Jeffrey A. Newcomer NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Greenbelt, MD (301) 286-785 (301) 286-0239 Jeffrey.Newcomer@gsfc.nasa.gov Contact 2 ---------- Josef Cihlar Canada Centre for Remote Sensing Ottawa, Ontario Canada (613) 947-1265 Josef.Cihlar@geocan.emr.ca 3. Theory of Measurements The Landsat series of satellites began with the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) launched in July 1972. This satellite was renamed Landsat 1 in 1975 to reflect its primary use as a land resource observatory. Through its onboard instruments, Landsat monitors Earth's mountain ranges, deserts, forests, and crops by measuring the light waves they reflect. The second generation of Landsat satellites (4 and 5) marked a significant advance in remote sensing through the addition of the more sophisticated TM sensor, with higher spectral and spatial resolution, and faster data processing at a highly automated data processing facility at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD. For BOREAS, the CCRS receiving station in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan collected the raw data. Processing of the raw data to the level-3p images was performed with the Geocoded Image Correction System (GICS; Friedel, 1992) at the CCRS facility in Ottawa. As Landsat's instrument mirrors scan Earth's surface, light enters the instrument optics, where it is focused on specially calibrated detector arrays. Onboard electronics encode the detector voltage as binary digits or bits. These digital image data are then relayed back to Earth to be processed into film and Computer-Compatible Tape (CCT) products which are subsequently used for Earth resources analysis. 4. Equipment: 4.1 Sensor/Instrument Description The TM sensor system records radiation from seven bands in the electromagnetic spectrum. It has a telescope that directs the incoming radiant flux obtained along a scan line through a scan line collector to the visible and near-infrared focal plane, or to the mid-infrared and thermal-infrared cooled focal plane. The detectors for the visible and near-infrared bands (1 to 4) are four staggered linear arrays, each containing 16 silicon detectors. The two mid-infrared detectors are 16 indium-antimonide cells in a staggered linear array, and the thermal-infrared detector is a four-element array of mercury-cadmium-telluride cells. The spectral regions, band widths, and primary use of each channel are given in the following table: Channel Wavelength (µm) Primary Use ------- --------------- ------------------------------------------ 1 0.451 - 0.521 Coastal water mapping, soil vegetation differentiation, deciduous/coniferous differentiation. 2 0.526 - 0.615 Green reflectance by healthy vegetation. 3 0.622 - 0.699 Chlorophyll absorption for plant species differentiation. 4 0.771 - 0.905 Biomass surveys, water body delineation. 5 1.564 - 1.790 Vegetation moisture measurement, snow and cloud differentiation. 6 10.450 - 12.460 Plant heat stress measurement, other thermal mapping. 7 2.083 - 2.351 Hydrothermal mapping. 4.1.1 Collection Environment The BOREAS Landsat TM level-3s images were acquired through the CCRS. Radiometric corrections and systematic geometric corrections are applied to produce the images in a path-oriented and systematically-corrected (level-3s) form. A full TM image contains 6920 pixels in each of 5728 lines. Before any geometric corrections, the ground resolution is 30 m for bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 and 120 m for band 6 at nadir. The pixel values of the images can range from 0 to 255. This allows each pixel to be stored in a single-byte field. The level-3s images were processed through the CCRS GICS. The Landsat satellite orbits Earth at an altitude of 705 km. 4.1.2 Source/Platform Although the majority of the BOREAS Landsat TM imagery was acquired by the instrument onboard Landsat-5, some imagery was obtained with the TM sensor on the Landsat 4 platform. 4.1.3 Source/Platform Mission Objectives The Landsat TM is designed to respond to and measure both reflected and emitted Earth surface radiation to enable the investigation, survey, inventory, and mapping of Earth's natural resources. 4.1.4 Key Variables Reflected radiation, emitted radiation, temperature. 4.1.5 Principles of Operation The TM is a scanning optical sensor operating in the visible and infrared wavelengths. It contains a scan mirror assembly that directly projects the reflected Earth radiation onto detectors arrayed in two focal planes. The TM achieves better image resolution, sharper color separation, and greater in- flight geometric and radiometric accuracy for seven spectral bands simultaneously than the previous generation sensor, the MultiSpectral Scanner (MSS). Data collected by the sensor are beamed back to ground receiving stations for processing. 4.1.6 Sensor/Instrument Measurement Geometry The TM sensor depends on the forward motion of the spacecraft for the along- track scan and uses moving mirror assembly to scan in the cross-track direction (perpendicular to the spacecraft). The instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV) for each detector from bands 1 - 5 and band 7 is equivalent to a 30-m square when projected to the ground at nadir; band 6 (the thermal infrared band) has an IFOV equivalent to a 120-m square at nadir. 4.1.7 Manufacturer of Sensor/Instrument NASA GSFC Greenbelt, MD 20771 Hughes Santa Barbara Remote Sensing (SBRS) Goleta, CA 4.2 Calibration The internal calibrator, a flex-pivot-mounted shutter assembly, is synchronized with the scan mirror, oscillating at the same 7-Hz frequency. During the turnaround period of the scan mirror, the shutter introduces the calibration source energy and a black direct-current restoration surface into the 100- detector field-of-view (FOV). The calibration signals for bands 1 - 5 and 7 are derived from three regulated tungsten-filament lamps. The calibration source for band 6 is a blackbody with three temperature selections, commanded from the ground. The method for transmitting radiation to the moving calibration shutter allows the tungsten lamps to provide radiation independently and to contribute proportionately to the illumination of all detectors. 4.2.1 Specifications Radiometric Band Sensitivity [NE(dP)]* ---- -------------------- 1 0.8% 2 0.5% 3 0.5% 4 0.5% 5 1.0% 6 0.5 K [NE(dT)] 7 2.4% Ground IFOV 30 m (Bands 1-5, 7) 120 m (Band 6) Avg. altitude 699.6 Km Data rate 85 Mbps Quantization levels 256 Orbit angle 8.15 degrees Orbital nodal period 98.88 minutes Scan width 185 km Scan angle 14.9 degrees Image overlap 7.6% Note: The radiometric sensitivities are the noise-equivalent (NE) reflectance differences for the reflective channels expressed as percentages [NE(dP)] and temperature differences for the thermal-infrared bands [NE(dT)] in Kelvins. 4.2.1.1 Tolerance The TM channels were designed for a NE differential represented by the radiometric sensitivity shown in Section 4.2.1. 4.2.2 Frequency of Calibration The absolute radiometric calibration between bands on the TM sensor is maintained by using internal calibrators located between the telescope and the detectors that are sampled at the end of a scan. 4.2.3 Other Calibration Information Relative within-band radiometric calibration, to reduce "striping," is provided by a scene-based procedure called histogram equalization. Because of the absolute accuracy and relative precision of this calibration scheme, it is assumed that any changes in the optics of the primary telescope or the "effective radiance" from the internal calibrator lamps are insignificant in comparison to the changes in detector sensitivity and electronic gain and bias with time and that the scene-dependent sampling is sufficiently precise for the required within-scan destriping from histogram equalization. Each TM reflective band and the internal calibrator lamps were calibrated prior to launch using lamps in integrating spheres that were in turn calibrated against lamps traceable to calibrated National Bureau of Standards lamps. The absolute radiometric calibration constants in the "short-term" and "long-term" parameter files used for ground processing were modified after launch if there was an inconsistency within or between bands, a change in the inherent dynamic range of the sensors, or a desire to make quantized and calibrated values from one sensor match those from another. 5. Data Acquisition Methods The BOREAS Landsat TM level-3s imagery was acquired through the CCRS. Radiometric corrections and systematic geometric corrections are applied to produce the images in a path-oriented, systematically corrected spatial form. A full level-3s TM image contains 6920 pixels in each of 5728 lines (see Section 11.2). Before any geometric corrections, the ground resolution is 30 m for bands 1-5, and 7 and 120 m for band 6 at nadir. The pixel values of the images can range from 0 to 255. This allows each pixel to be stored in a single byte field. The level-3s images were processed through the CCRS GICS system. 6. Observations 6.1 Data Notes None. 6.2 Field Notes Not applicable. 7. Data Description 7.1 Spatial Characteristics 7.1.1 Spatial Coverage The BOREAS level-3s Landsat TM images primarily cover the Northern and the Southern Study Areas (NSA and SSA). Some of the imagery covers the transect area between the SSA and the NSA or the Prince Albert National Park (PANP) west of the SSA. The SSA and the NSA are located in the southwest and northeast portions of the overall region. A full TM scene covers approximately 31,000 square kilometers. The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) corner coordinates of the SSA are: Latitude Longitude -------- --------- Northwest 54.321 N 106.228 W Northeast 54.225 N 104.237 W Southwest 53.515 N 106.321 W Southeast 53.420 N 104.368 W The NAD83 corner coordinates of the NSA are: Latitude Longitude -------- --------- Northwest 56.249 N 98.825 W Northeast 56.083 N 97.234 W Southwest 55.542 N 99.045 W Southeast 55.379 N 97.489 W 7.1.2 Spatial Coverage Map Not available. 7.1.3 Spatial Resolution Before any geometric corrections, the spatial resolution is 30 m for bands 1-5, and 7 and 120 m for band 6 at nadir. These values increase with scan angle away from the nadir path. The level-3s Landsat TM images have had geometric corrections applied so that the spatial resolution for all pixels is 30 m in all bands. These level-3s images have a high level of internal spatial integrity but the actual geographic coordinates contained in the image header can be offset from their actual positions by as much as 20 km (personal communication with CCRS personnel, 1994). 7.1.4 Projection The level-3s Landsat TM images are placed in a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection based on NAD83. Detailed projection parameter information for the individual images is contained in the leader file(s). 7.1.5 Grid Description The pixel/grid spacing for each pixel in the level-3s Landsat TM images is 30 m in the UTM projection. Detailed grid parameter information for the individual images is contained in the leader file(s). 7.2 Temporal Characteristics 7.2.1 Temporal Coverage The BOREAS level-3s Landsat TM acquisitions cover 22-Jun-1984 to 30-Jul-1996. Imagery acquired before the BOREAS field campaigns were conducted is included in the BOREAS archive with imagery collected during the project. Historical Landsat data have been acquired by CCRS routinely since the launch of Landsat 1 and are kept in the CCRS archive. Since the mid-1980s, CCRS has been acquiring and archiving all Landsat data over Canada during the growing season; however during the winter, only requested data were obtained. For BOREAS, this policy was modified to obtain data throughout the year over the BOREAS region. The acquired data are archived by CCRS and can be interrogated to ascertain which scenes were archived and their characteristics. 7.2.2 Temporal Coverage Map Date Study Area --------- ---------- 11-Jul-84 SSA 12-Aug-84 SSA 07-Jul-85 SSA 11-Aug-86 SSA 18-Aug-86 SSA 30-Aug-87 SSA 20-Jun-88 SSA 06-Jul-88 SSA 23-Aug-88 SSA 02-Jul-89 SSA 10-Aug-89 SSA 04-Sep-89 SSA 12-Jul-90 SSA 06-Aug-90 SSA 06-Aug-90 SSA 29-Aug-90 SSA 05-May-91 SSA 06-Jun-91 SSA 24-Jul-91 SSA 09-Aug-91 SSA 10-Sep-91 SSA 15-Jun-92 SSA 18-Jan-93 SSA 29-Jul-93 SSA 06-Feb-94 SSA 20-Apr-94 SSA 23-Jun-94 SSA 25-Jul-94 SSA 02-Sep-94 SSA 18-Sep-94 SSA 29-Mar-95 SSA 03-Jul-95 SSA 21-Sep-95 SSA 27-Jan-96 SSA 02-May-96 SSA 30-Jul-96 SSA 22-Jun-84 NSA 19-Aug-85 NSA 15-Aug-86 NSA 23-May-88 NSA 01-Jun-88 NSA 08-Jun-88 NSA 10-Jul-88 NSA 20-Aug-88 NSA 05-Sep-88 NSA 07-Aug-89 NSA 25-Jul-90 NSA 28-Jul-91 NSA 06-Aug-92 NSA 14-Feb-93 NSA 02-Aug-93 NSA 10-Feb-94 NSA 09-Jun-94 NSA 13-Feb-95 NSA 09-Apr-95 NSA 11-May-95 NSA 21-Jun-95 NSA 22-May-96 NSA 09-Jul-96 NSA 23-Aug-88 PANP 12-Jul-90 PANP 05-Aug-89 TRANSECT 23-Jul-90 TRANSECT 7.2.3 Temporal Resolution The Landsat TM satellite revisit frequency is 16 days for each path/row, however in the BOREAS region the overlap between adjacent scene paths is about 50%. 7.3 Data Characteristics Data characteristics are defined in the companion data definition file (ltm_ii3s.def). 7.3.1 Parameter/Variable The main parameter contained in the image data files is scaled at-sensor radiance. 7.3.2 Variable Description/Definition For the image data files: Scaled at-sensor radiance - The scaled value representing the radiant energy incident on the sensor aperture at the time of data collection in the specific TM wavelength regions. 7.3.3 Unit of Measurement The units for the scaled at-sensor radiance values vary by band. To obtain at- sensor radiance values in Watts/(m2 * sr * µm) use the formula: At-sensor Radiance = Scaled Value * Gain + Offset where the gain and Offset values are contained in the ASCII header file. 7.3.4 Data Source The data contained in the level-3s Landsat TM data files come from various portions of the Landsat satellite, the TM instrument, and the ground processing components. The level-3s Landsat TM images were supplied to the BOREAS by the CCRS. 7.3.5 Data Range The maximum range of scaled at-sensor radiance values in each level-3s Landsat TM image band is limited from 0 (zero) to 255 so that the values can be stored in a single 8-bit (byte) field. 7.4 Sample Data Record Sample data format shown in the companion data definition file (ltm_ii3s.def). 8. Data Organization 8.1 Data Granularity The smallest unit of data for level-3s Landsat TM imagery is a full TM scene. 8.2 Data Format(s) The inventory listing file consists of numerical and character fields of varying length separated by commas. The character fields are enclosed with a single apostrophe marks. There are no spaces between the fields. The level-3s Landsat TM imagery from CCRS are stored in either a band sequential (BSQ) or band interleaved by line (BIL) form. General information on these two formats are provided in the subsequent sections. Detailed information on these can be obtained from the CCRS document referenced in section 17.1. 8.2.1 Band Sequential Format The files associated with a band sequential TM scene are as follows: File 1 volume directory File 2 leader file band 1 File 3 TM band 1 File 4 trailer file band 1 File 5 leader file band 2 File 6 TM band 2 File 7 trailer file band 2 . . and so on... . . File 21 TM band 7 File 22 trailer file band 7 File 23 null volume file If there are multiple scenes on a tape, the next scene would occupy files 24-46, 23 files exactly as above. There are up to 4 TM scenes (92 files) contained on one 8 mm tape. The reason there are multiple volume directory files on one tape media is because the 8 mm tapes were generated by copying the original 9-track tapes, and each one of the 9-track tapes had it's own volume directory. Each image file in BSQ format contains data for one spectral band. 8.2.1.1 BSQ Leader Files The contents of Leader files have been defined in detail by the LGSOWG Technical Working Group (LTWG). The contents of the Leader files are as follows: File descriptor record; Scene header record; Map projection (scene-related) anciliary record; Radiometric transformation anciliary record. All leader files contain fixed length records 4320 bytes in length and contain both ASCII and binary data. For specific details see the CCRS documentation referenced in section 17.1. 8.2.1.2 BSQ Imagery File The BSQ image files have 5729 records, with each record containing 7020 bytes. The first record in this file is a header record, followed by 5728 image records. The contents of the Scene Header record is specified by LTWG standards and contains information relating to the mission, sensor parameters, processing options, and geometric parameters for the sensor. Each image record contains 32 bytes of prefix data, 6920 bytes of image data, and 68 bytes of suffix data (32 + 6920 + 68 = 7020). Each image is oriented so that pixel 1, line 1 is in the upper left-hand (i.e., northwest) corner of the screen display. Pixels and lines progress left to right, and top to bottom so that pixel n, line n is in the lower right-hand corner. 8.2.1.3 BSQ Trailer File The trailer file contains information associated with the image data not always available before writing the image data, such as data and recording quality and data summaries. Each trailer file contains a file descriptor record and trailer record for all bands of imagery in the associated imagery file. All trailer files contain fixed length records 4320 bytes in length and contain both ASCII and binary data. For specific details see the CCRS documentation referenced in section 17.1. 8.2.2 Band Interleaved by Line Format The files associated with a BIL TM scene are as follows: File 1 volume directory File 2 leader file bands 1-7 File 3 TM bands 1-7 (first 1/3 of scene - 1910 lines) File 4 volume directory File 5 TM bands 1-7 (second 1/3 of scene - 1909 lines) File 6 volume directory File 7 TM bands 1-7 (final 1/3 of scene - 1909 lines) File 8 trailer File 9 null volume file If there are multiple scenes on a tape, the next scene would occupy files 10-18, 9 files exactly as above. There are up to 4 TM scenes (36 files) contained on one 8mm tape. The reason there are multiple volume directory files on one tape media is because the 8 mm tapes were generated from copying the original 9-track tapes, and each one of the 9-track tapes had it's own volume directory. The image files in band interleaved by line (BIL) format contain image data for one or more spectral bands. 8.2.2.1 BIL Leader Files See BSQ Leader Files. 8.2.2.2 BIL Imagery File The three BIL image files have 13371, 13363, and 13363 records, respectively, with each record containing 7020 bytes. The first record in the first imagery file is the header record, followed by 13370 image records for a total of 1910 lines of the scene for all seven bands (1910 lines x 7 bands = 13370 records). The second two imagery files each contain 13363 image records for a total of 1909 lines of the scene for all seven bands (1909 lines x 7 bands = 13370 records). In a BIL image file, the first 7 image records are line 1, bands 1-7, respectively, the next 7 image records are line 2, bands 1-7, respectively, and so on. Each image record contains 32 bytes of prefix data, 6920 bytes of image data, and 68 bytes of suffix data (32 + 6920 + 68 = 7020). Each image is oriented so that pixel 1, line 1 is in the upper left-hand (i.e., northwest) corner of the screen display. Pixels and lines progress left to right, and top to bottom so that pixel n, line n is in the lower right-hand corner. 8.2.2.3 BIL Trailer File See BSQ Trailer File. 9. Data Manipulations 9.1 Formulae 9.1.1 Derivation Techniques and Algorithms Not applicable. 9.2 Data Processing Sequence 9.2.1 Processing Steps BORIS staff processed a level-3s Landsat TM image by: 1) Extracting pertinent header information from the level-3s image product and writing it to a disk file, 2) Reading the information in the disk file and loading the on-line data base with needed information. Some cloud cover and image quality assessment information is generated when BORIS processes the level-3s images to level-3a products. This information is entered into the BORIS database but is not included with the images on tape. To obtain this information, see section 15.1. 9.2.2 Processing Changes None. 9.3 Calculations 9.3.1 Special Corrections/Adjustments None. 9.3.2 Calculated Variables None. 9.4 Graphs and Plots None. 10. Errors 10.1 Sources of Error Errors could arise in the acquired imagery from location inaccuracy, distortion of lengths, anisomorphism, the instrument's local coherence, and multispectral registrability. Other errors could arise from inherent radiometric imperfections of the sensors. 10.2 Quality Assessment 10.2.1 Data Validation by Source Whatever the processing level, the geometric quality of the image depends on the accuracy of the viewing geometry. Spectral errors could arise due image wide signal-to-noise ratio, saturation, cross-talk, spikes, response normalization due to change in gain. 10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgement Assessment of accuracy of the absolute radiometric constants is difficult. The uncertainties in prelaunch and postlaunch updates of the absolute calibration constants are nominally specified to be less than 10%. A root mean square (rms) summing of known errors in the prelaunch calibration suggests that this may be a reasonable estimate of overall uncertainty in the prelaunch calibration. There are also known, but as yet uncorrected, effects associated with temperature-dependence of the TM internal calibrator that may be contributing to apparent discontinuous changes at launch and to the continuous changes of gain while in orbit. Additional uncertainties for exoatmospheric reflectances are probably less than 2% in the visible/near-infrared and less than 5% in the shortwave infrared portion of the spectrum as judged by the current differences in estimates of the solar irradiance. The level-3s Landsat TM imagery has had geometric corrections applied so that the spatial resolution for all pixels is 30 m in all bands. The level-3s imagery has a high level of internal spatial integrity but the actual geographic coordinate information contained on the tape can be offset from their actual positions by as much as 20 km. 10.2.3 Measurement Error for Parameters None given. 10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments The reproducibility of ground measurements at White Sands, NM, at times of Landsat TM overpass to about 5% for 5 dates for Bands 1-4 suggests a potential for monitoring sensor change for the whole system with time. Images are screened for level of cloud cover before BORIS processing. 10.2.5 Data Verification by Data Center BORIS used developed software to extract information for logging the data into a relational database. In addition, the software read through the records of the files checking for proper record sizes. 11. Notes 11.1 Limitations of the Data To date, the following discrepancies/problems have been noted in the data: None. 11.2 Known Problems with the Data To date, the following discrepancies/problems have been noted in the data: o Some header files refer to Level-1S rather than Level-3S or to L1S rather than L3S since they were created by software prior to BORIS finalization of data categories.. 11.3 Usage Guidance None. 11.4 Other Relevant Information None 12. Application of the Data Set The level-3s Landsat TM images are useful for anyone interested in high spatial resolution imagery over the entire NSA or SSA. 13. Future Modifications and Plans None. 14. Software 14.1 Software Description The BORIS developed software and command procedures to: 1) Extract header information from level-3s Landsat TM images on tape and write to ASCII files on disk. 2) Read the ASCII disk file and log the level-3 Landsat TM image products into the Oracle data base tables. 3) Convert coordinates in the leader file(s) between the geographic systems of (latitude, longitude), UTM (northing, easting), and BOREAS (x,y) grid locations. The software mentioned under items 1 and 2 is written in the C language and is operational on VAX 6410 and MicroVAX 3100 systems at GSFC. The primary dependencies in the software are the tape I/O library and the Oracle data base utility routines. The geographic coordinate conversion utility (BOR_CORD) has been tested and used on Macintosh, IBM PC, VAX, Silicon Graphics, and Sun workstations. 14.2 Software Access All of the described software is available upon request. BORIS staff would appreciate knowing of any problems discovered with the software, but cannot promise to fix them. 15. Data Access 15.1 Contact Information Ms. Beth Nelson NASA GSFC Greenbelt, MD (301) 286-4005 (301) 286-0239 (fax) beth@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov 15.2 Data Center Identification See 15.1. 15.3 Procedures for Obtaining Data Users may place requests by letter, telephone, electronic mail, or FAX. 15.4 Data Center Status/Plans The level-3s Landsat TM image data are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOS-DIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The BOREAS contact at ORNL is: ORNL DAAC User Services Oak Ridge National Laboratory (865) 241-3952 ornldaac@ornl.gov ornl@eos.nasa.gov Although the BOREAS level-3s Landsat TM images are being held in a public archive, copyright restrictions limit the distribution and use of the data. The BOREAS CD-ROM series is publicly available and contain some of the level-3a Landsat TM images. However, other Landsat TM image products in the collection are only available to official BOREAS project personnel. Please contact the ORNL DAAC User Services office to get the most recent information. 16. Output Products and Availability 16.1 Tape Products The Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) level-3s data can be made available on 8 mm, DAT, or 9-track tapes at 6250 or 1600 BPI. Although the BOREAS level-3s Landsat TM images are being held in a public archive, copyright restrictions limit the distribution and use of the data. The BOREAS CD-ROM series is publicly available and contain some of the level-3a Landsat TM images. However, other Landsat TM image products in the collection are only available to official BOREAS project personnel. Please contact the ORNL DAAC User Services office (see Section 15.4) to get the most recent information. 16.2 Film Products None. 16.3 Other Products Although the image inventory is contained on the BOREAS CD-ROM set, the actual level-3s Landsat TM images are not. See section 15 for information about how to obtain the data. 17. References 17.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/Data Processing Documentation Multispectral Scanner System for ERTS. 1972. HS324-5214. Hughes Aircraft Corporation. Santa Barbara, CA. Standard Landsat 4, 5 and 6 TM CCT Format Specification, DMD-TM #82-249E. 1991. Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS), Surveys, Mapping and Remote Sensing Sector, Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada. User's Guide for Landsat Thematic Mapper Computer-Compatible Tapes. 1985. Earth Observation Satellite Company. Lanham, MD. 17.2 Journal Articles and Study Reports Byrne, G.F., P.F. Crapper, and K.K. Mayo. 1980. Monitoring land-cover change by principal component analysis of multitemporal Landsat data. Remote Sens. Environ. 10:175-184. Chavez, P.C., S.C. Guptill, and J.A. Bowell. 1984. Image processing techniques for Thematic Mapper data. Technical Papers. 50th Annual Meeting of the Amer. Soc. of Photogr. 2:728-743. Crist, E.P. and R.C. Cicone. 1984. Application of the Tasseled Cap concept to simulated Thematic Mapper data. Photogr. Engr. & Rem. Sens. 50:343-352. Engel, J.L. and O. Weinstein. 1983. The Thematic Mapper: An Overview. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. GE-21:258-265. Friedel, J. 1992. System description of the Geocoded Image Correction System. Report GC-MA-50-3915, MacDonald Detwiller and Associates, Richmond, B.C. Holmes, R.A. 1984. Advanced sensor systems: Thematic Mapper and beyond. Remote Sens. Environ. 15:213-221. Kanemasu, E.T., J.L. Heilman, J.O. Bagley, and W.L. Powers. 1977. Using Landsat data to estimate evapotranspiration of winter wheat. Environ- mental Management. 1:515-520. Lulla, K. 1983. The Landsat satellites and selected aspects of Physical Geography. Progress in Phy. Geogr. 7:1-45. Malila, W.A. 1985. Comparison of the Information Contents of Landsat TM and MSS Data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. 51:1449-1457. Pollock, R.B. and E.T. Kanemasu. 1979. Estimating leaf-area index of wheat with Landsat data. Remote Sens. Environ. 8:307-312. Robinov, C.J. 1982. Computation with physical values from Landsat digital data. Photogr. Engr. & Rem. Sens. 48:781-784. Salomonson, V.V. 1984. Landsat 4 and 5 status and results from Thematic Mapper data analysis. Proceedings. Machine Processing of Remotely Sensed Data Symposium. Lab. for the Applications of Remote Sensing. West Lafayette, IN. p 13-18. Satterwhite, M.B. 1984. Discriminating vegetation and soils using Landsat MSS and Thematic Mapper bands and band ratios. Technical Papers. 50th Annual Meeting of the Amer. Soc. of Photogr. 2:479-485. Sellers, P., F. Hall. 1994. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: Experiment Plan. Version 1994-3.0, NASA BOREAS Report (EXPLAN 94). Sellers, P., F. Hall. 1996. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: Experiment Plan. Version 1996-2.0, NASA BOREAS Report (EXPLAN 96). Sellers, P., F. Hall, and K.F. Huemmrich. 1996. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: 1994 Operations. NASA BOREAS Report (OPS DOC 94). Sellers, P., F. Hall, and K.F. Huemmrich. 1997. Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study: 1996 Operations. NASA BOREAS Report (OPS DOC 96). Sellers, P., F. Hall, H. Margolis, B. Kelly, D. Baldocchi, G. den Hartog, J. Cihlar, M.G. Ryan, B. Goodison, P. Crill, K.J. Ranson, D. Lettenmaier, and D.E. Wickland. 1995. The boreal ecosystem-atmosphere study (BOREAS): an overview and early results from the 1994 field year. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 76(9):1549-1577. Sellers, P., F. Hall. 1997. BOREAS Overview Paper. JGR Special Issue (in press). Singn, A.N. and R.S. Dwived, 1986. The Utility of Landsat Imagery as an Integral Part of the Data Base for Small Scale Soil Mapping. Int. J. Remote Sensing. 7:1099-1108. Taranik, J.V. 1978. Characteristics of the Landsat Multispectral Data System. U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Open File Report 78-187. Sioux Falls, SD. Thompson, D.R., and O.A. Wehmanen. 1980. Using Landsat digital data to detect moisture stress in corn-soybean growing region. Photogr. Engr. & Rem. Sens. 46:1082-1089. Williams, D.L., J.R. Irons, B.L. Markham, R.F. Nelson, D.L. Toll, R.S. Latty, and M.L. Stauffer. 1984. A statistical evaluation of the advantages of Landsat Thematic Mapper data in comparison to Multi-spectral Scanner data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and RemoteSensing. GE-22. 17.3 Archive/DBMS Usage Documentation None. 18. Glossary of Terms None. 19. List of Acronyms ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange BIL - Band Interleaved By Line BOREAS - BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study BORIS - BOREAS Information System BPI - Bytes per inch BSQ - Band sequential CCRS - Canada Centre for Remote Sensing CCT - Computer Compatible Tape CD-ROM - Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory DAAC - Distributed Active Archive Center DAT - Digital Archive Tape DN - Digital Number EDC - EROS Data Center EOS - Earth Observing System EOSDIS - EOS Data and Information System EROS - Earth Resources Observation System ERTS - Earth Resources Technology Satellite FOLD - Federally Owned Landsat Database FOV - Field of View FPAR - Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation GICS - Geocoded Image Correction System GSFC - Goddard Space Flight Center IFOV - Instantaneous Field-of-View I/O - Input/Output LAI - Leaf Area Index LGSOWG - Landsat Ground Station Operations Working Group LTWG - LGSOWG Technical Working Group MSS - Multispectral Scanner NAD27 - North American Datum of 1927 NAD83 - North American Datum of 1983 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration NE - Noise Equivalent NSA - Northern Study Area ORNL - Oak Ridge National Laboratory PANP - Prince Albert National Park rms - root-mean-square SBRC - Santa Barbara Research Center SSA - Southern Study Area TIPS - Thematic Mapper Image Processing System TM - Thematic Mapper URL - Uniform Resource Locator UTM - Universal Transverse Mercator 20. Document Information 20.1 Document Revision Date Written: 12-Apr-1995 Last Updated: 19-Mar-1998 20.2 Document Review Dates BORIS Review: 20-Feb-1998 Science Review: 27-Feb-1998 20.3 Document ID 20.4 Citation The Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) level-3s images were acquired by CCRS and processed by RADARSAT International under an agreement with CCRS. 20.5 Document Curator 20.6 Document URL LANDSAT LANDSAT THEMATIC MAPPER EMITTED RADIATION REFLECTED RADIATION LANDSAT_TM_L3S.doc 04/17/98