NASA/TMm2000-209891, Vol. 96

Technical Report Series on the

Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS)

Forrest G. Hall, Editor

Volume 96

BOREAS Level-3a Landsat TM Imagery:

Scaled At-sensor Radiance in BSQ Format

Jaime Nickeson, David Knapp, and Jeffrey A. Newcomer, Raytheon ITSS,

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

Josef Cihlar, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

September 2000

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NASA/TMm2000-209891, Vol. 96

Technical Report Series on the

Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS)

Forrest G. Hall, Editor

Volume 96

BOREAS Level-3a Landsat TM Imagery:

Scaled At-sensor Radiance in BSQ Format

Jaime Nickeson, David Knapp, and Jeffrey A. Newcomer, Raytheon ITSS,

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

Josef Cihlar, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

September 2000
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information

7121 Standard Drive

Hanover, MD 21076-1320

Price Code: A17

Available from:

National Technical Information Service

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, VA 22161

Price Code: A10
BOREAS Level-3a Landsat TM Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in

BSQ Format

Jaime Nickeson, David Knapp, Jeffrey A. Newcomer, Josef Cihlar

Summary

For BOREAS, the level-3a 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. Although very similar in content to the level-3s Landsat TM products, the level-3a

images were created to provide users with a more usable BSQ format and to provide information that

permitted direct determination of per-pixel latitude and longitude coordinates. Geographically, the

level-3a images cover the BOREAS NSA and SSA. Temporally, the images cover the period of

22-Jun-1984 to 30-Jul-1996. The images are available in binary, image-format files. With permission

from CCRS and RSI, several of the full-resolution images are included on the BOREAS CD-ROM

series. Due to copyright issues, the images not included on the CD-ROM may not be publicly

available. See Sections 15 and 16 for information about how to acquire the data. Information about the

images not on the CD-ROMs is provided in an inventory listing on the CD-ROMs.

Note that some of the data set files on the BOREAS CD-ROMs have been compressed using the

Gzip program. See Section 8.2 for details.

Also note that the ground control points for the NSA were updated after many of the scenes

covering the NSA had already been processed to level-3a. Thus, the longitude and latitude coordinates

contained in many of the ASCII header files for the NSA scenes are outdated and not as precise as the

new coordinates. Please see Section 11.2 for details and updated coordinates.

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

Page 1
1. Data Set Overview

1.1 Data Set Identification

BOREAS Level-3a Landsat TM Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in BSQ 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. BOREAS

Information System (BORIS) and CCRS personnel subsequently processed the acquired images to the

level-3a products described here.

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). BORIS staff processed the

seven-band level-3s and level-3p Landsat TM imagery to level-3a products.

1.4 Summary of Parameters

Landsat TM level-3a data in BORIS contain the following parameters:

Original image header information, image coordinates, gains and offsets for each band for

at-sensor radiance derivations, georeferencing information summary, control point coordinates used to

georeference the image, and image bands 1-7.

1.5 Discussion

Use and distribution of the level-3a Landsat TM images are subject to copyright restrictions. CCRS

and Radarsat International (RSI) granted permission to BOREAS to place a subset of the Landsat TM

images on the BOREAS CD-ROM series. The remaining images may not be available for public

access. Please see Sections 15 and 16 for further details.

BORIS staff created the Landsat TM level-3a imagery by:

• Extracting pertinent header information from the level-3s or 3p image product and placing it in

the level-3a American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) header file.

• Reformatting the level-3s or -3p image data into a band sequential (BSQ) file on disk.

• Reviewing the image bands for cloud cover and band quality.

• Selecting control points to calculate an improved set of georeferencing coordinates.

• Appending the georeferencing information to the level-3a ASCII header file.

• Writing the ASCII header file and seven image bands to tape.

1.6 Related Data Sets

BOREAS Level-3s Landsat TM Imagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in LGSOWG Format

BOREAS Level-3b Landsat TM Imagery: At-sensor Radiance 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

Page 2
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:

Josef Cihlar

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

588 Booth Street, 4th Floor

Ottawa, Ontario

K1AOY7 Canada

(613) 947-1265

Josef.Cihlar@geocan.emr.ca

Contact 2:

Jeffrey A. Newcomer

Raytheon ITSS

Code 923

NASA GSFC

Greenbelt, MD 20771

(301) 286-785

(301) 286-0239

Jeffrey.Newcomer@ gsfc.nasa.gov

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 imagery used as input for the BOREAS level-3a processing 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.

Page 3
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-cadminm-telluride cells. The spectral regions, band widths, and primary use of each channel

are given in the following table:

Channel Wavelength (_m) Primary Use

1 0.451

2 0.526

3 0 .622

4 0.771

5 1.564

6 10.450

7 2.083

- 0 521

- 0 615

- 0 699

- 0 905

- 1.790

Coastal water mapping, soil vegetation

differentiation, deciduous/coniferous

differentiation.

Green reflectance by healthy vegetation.

Chlorophyll absorption for plant species

differentiation.

Biomass surveys, water body delineation.

Vegetation moisture measurement, snow and cloud

differentiation.

Plant heat stress measurement, other thermal mapping.

Hydrothermal mapping.

4.1.1 Collection Environment

The BOREAS Landsat TM level-3s and -3p images were acquired through the CCRS. Radiometric

corrections and systematic geometric corrections are applied to produce the images in a path-oriented,

systematically corrected (level-3s) or precision-corrected (level-3p) form. A full TM image contains

6,920 pixels in each of 5,728 lines (see Section 11.2). 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

and level-3p 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.

Page 4
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)]*

0 8%

0 5%

0 5%

5%

O%

5 K

4%

[NE (dT) ]

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.

Page 5
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 and -3p images were acquired through the CCRS. Radiometric

corrections and systematic or precision geometric corrections are applied to produce the images in a

path-oriented form. A full TM image contains 6,920 pixels in each of 5,728 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.

6.1 Data Notes

None.

6.2 Field Notes

Not applicable.

6. Observations

7. Data Description

7.1 Spatial Characteristics

7.1.1 Spatial Coverage

The BOREAS level-3a Landsat TM images cover the Southern Study Area (SSA) and Northern

Study Area (NSA). 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:

Page 6
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 at nadir is 30 m for bands 1-5 and 7 and

120 m for band 6. These values increase with scan angle away from the nadir path. The level-3s and

-3p Landsat TM images have had geometric corrections applied so that the spatial resolution for all

pixels is 30 m in all bands. The level-3s images have a high level of internal spatial integrity, but the

actual geographic coordinates contained on the tape can be offset from their actual positions by as

much as 20 kin. The level-3p images have a high level of internal spatial integrity and have had ground

control added to improve the accuracy of the geographic coordinates provided on the tape. In

processing the level-3s and -3p images to level-3a products, BORIS has provided equations for

calculating the latitude, longitude of any image pixel but has not performed any further geometric

corrections or spatial resampling of the image data. The image pixels retain their 30-meter spatial

resolution with some leveling of the geographic accuracy of the pixel positions.

7.1.4 Projection

The level-3a Landsat TM images are in a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection based

on NAD83. Detailed projection parameter information for the individual images is contained in the

ASCII header file. Ground control point locations and least squares equations to calculate the latitude

and longitude of any pixel in the image were included in the ASCII header file by BORIS personnel

(see Sections 9.2.1 and 9.2.2).

7.1.5 Grid Description

The pixel/grid spacing for each pixel in the level-3a Landsat TM images is 30 m in the UTM

projection.

7.2 Temporal Characteristics

7.2.1 Temporal Coverage

The entire set of BOREAS 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.

Page 7
7.2.2 Temporal Coverage Map

The following two lists provide dates for all the level-3a Landsat TM images that are available from

BOREAS.

Date Study Area Date Study Area

ii-Jui-1984 SSA

12-Aug-1984 SSA

07-Jui-1985 SSA

ll-Aug-1986 SSA

18-Aug-1986 SSA

30-Aug-1987 SSA

20-Jun-1988 SSA

06-Jui-1988 SSA

23-Aug-1988 SSA

02-Jui-1989 SSA

04-Sep-1989 SSA

06-Aug-1990 SSA

06-Aug-1990 SSA

29-Aug-1990 SSA

05-May-1991 SSA

06-Jun-1991 SSA

24-Jui-1991 SSA

09-Aug-1991 SSA

10-Sep-1991 SSA

15-Jun-1992 SSA

18-Jan-1993 SSA

29-Jui-1993 SSA

06-Feb-1994 SSA

20-Apr-1994 SSA

07-Jun-1994 SSA

29-Mar-1995 SSA

03-Jui-1995 SSA

21-Sep-1995 SSA

27-Jan-1996 SSA

02-May-1996 SSA

30-Jui-1996 SSA

22-Jun-1984 NSA

19-Aug-1985 NSA

15-Aug-1986 NSA

01-Jun-1988 NSA

20-Aug-1988 NSA

05-Sep-1988 NSA

07-Aug-1989 NSA

25-Jui-1990 NSA

28-Jui-1991 NSA

06-Aug-1992 NSA

02-Aug-1993 NSA

10-Feb-1994 NSA

09-Jun-1994 NSA

13-Feb-1995 NSA

09-Apr-1995 NSA

ll-May-1995 NSA

21-Jun-1995 NSA

22-May-1996 NSA

09-Jui-1996 NSA

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

7.3.1 Parameter/Variable

The main parameter contained in the image data files is scaled at-sensor radiance. The parameters

contained in the inventory listing file on the CD-ROM are:

Column Name

SPATIAL COVERAGE

DATE OBS

START TIME

END TIME

Page 8
PLATFORM

INSTRUMENT

NUM BANDS

BAND QUALITY

CLOUD COVER

PATH NUM

ROW NUM

NW LATITUDE

NW LONGITUDE

NE LATITUDE

NE LONGITUDE

SW LATITUDE

SW LONGITUDE

SE LATITUDE

SE LONGITUDE

PLATFORM ALTITUDE

MIN SOLAR ZEN ANG

MAX SOLAR ZEN ANG

MIN SOLAR AZ ANG

MAX SOLAR AZ ANG

CRTFCN CODE

7.3.2 Variable Description/Definition

For the image data files:

Scaled at-sensor radiance - The scaled value representing the quantized DN derived

by the TM scanning systemradiant energy

incident on the sensor aperture at the time of data

collection in the specific TM wavelength regions.

The descriptions of the parameters contained in the inventory listing file on the CD-ROM are:

Column Name Description

SPATIAL COVERAGE

DATE OBS

START TIME

END TIME

PLATFORM

INSTRUMENT

NUM BANDS

BAND QUALITY

CLOUD COVER

PATH NUM

ROW NUM

The general term used to denote the spatial area

over which the data were collected.

The date on which the data were collected.

The starting Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for the

data collected.

The ending Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for the

data collected.

The object (e.g., satellite, aircraft, tower,

person) that supported the instrument.

The name of the device used to make the

measurements.

The number of spectral bands in the data.

The data analyst's assessment of the quality of

the spectral bands in the data.

The data analyst's assessment of the cloud cover

that exists in the data.

For Landsat and SPOT, the sequential number

given to the orbital paths trending from

northeast to southwest and extending around the

earth.

For Landsat and SPOT, the sequential number

Page 9
NW LATITUDE

NW LONGITUDE

NE LATITUDE

NE LONGITUDE

SW LATITUDE

SW LONGITUDE

SE LATITUDE

SE LONGITUDE

PLATFORM ALTITUDE

MIN SOLAR ZEN ANG

MAX SOLAR ZEN ANG

MIN SOLAR AZ ANG

MAX SOLAR AZ ANG

CRTFCN CODE

given to the nominal scene acquisition points

along the orbital paths which trend from

northeast to southwest.

The NAD83 based latitude coordinate of the northwest corner of the minimum bounding rectangle

for the data.

The NAD83 based longitude coordinate of the

northwest corner of the minimum bounding

rectangle for the data.

The NAD83 based latitude coordinate of the north

east corner of the minimum bounding rectangle for

the data.

The NAD83 based longitude coordinate of the

north east corner of the minimum bounding

rectangle for the data.

The NAD83 based latitude coordinate of the south

west corner of the minimum bounding rectangle for

the data.

The NAD83 based longitude coordinate of the

southwest corner of the minimum bounding

rectangle for the data.

The NAD83 based latitude coordinate of the south

east corner of the minimum bounding rectangle for

the data.

The NAD83 based longitude coordinate of the

southeast corner of the minimum bounding

rectangle for the data.

The nominal altitude of the data collection plat

form above the target.

The minimum angle from the surface normal

(straight up) to the sun during the data

collection.

The maximum angle from the surface normal

(straight up) to the sun during the data

collection.

The minimum azimuthal direction of the sun

during data collection expressed in clockwise

increments from North.

The maximum azimuthal direction of the sun

during data collection expressed in clockwise

increments from North.

The BOREAS certification level of the data.

Examples are CPI (Checked by PI), CGR (Certified

by Group), PRE (Preliminary), and CPI-??? (CPI

but questionable).

Page 10
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 * ]am) use the formula:

At-sensor Radiance = Scaled Value * Gain + Offset

where the gain and Offset values are contained in the ASCII header file. The measurement units for the

parameters contained in the inventory listing file on the CD-ROM are:

Column Name Units

SPATIAL COVERAGE [none]

DATE OBS [DD-MON-YY]

START TIME [HHMM GMT]

END TIME [HHMM GMT]

PLATFORM [none]

INSTRUMENT [none]

NUM BANDS [counts]

BAND QUALITY [none]

CLOUD COVER [none]

PATH NUM [unitless]

ROW NUM [unitless]

NW LATITUDE [degrees]

NW LONGITUDE [degrees]

NE LATITUDE [degrees]

NE LONGITUDE [degrees]

SW LATITUDE [degrees]

SW LONGITUDE [degrees]

SE LATITUDE [degrees]

SE LONGITUDE [degrees]

PLATFORM ALTITUDE [meters]

MIN SOLAR ZEN ANG [degrees]

MAX SOLAR ZEN ANG [degrees]

MIN SOLAR AZ ANG [degrees]

MAX SOLAR AZ ANG [degrees]

CRTFCN CODE [none]

7.3.4 Data Source

The data contained in the level-3a Landsat TM data files come from various portions of the Landsat

satellite, the TM instrument, and the ground processing components. The level-3a Landsat TM images

were created by BORIS and CCRS personnel from the level-3s and level-3p images supplied by

CCRS. The sources of the parameter values contained in the inventory listing file on the CD-ROM are:

Column Name Data Source

SPATIAL COVERAGE

DATE OBS

START TIME

END TIME

[Determined by BORIS software from latitude and

longitude information contained on the level-3s

data files.]

[Determined by BORIS software from data and time

information contained on the level-3s data

files.]

[Determined by BORIS software from data and time

information contained on the level-3s data

files.]

[Determined by BORIS software from data and time

Page 11
PLATFORM

INSTRUMENT

NUM BANDS

BAND QUALITY

CLOUD COVER

PATH NUM

ROW NUM

NW LATITUDE

NW LONGITUDE

NE LATITUDE

NE LONGITUDE

SW LATITUDE

SW LONGITUDE

SE LATITUDE

SE LONGITUDE

PLATFORM ALTITUDE

MIN SOLAR ZEN ANG

MAX SOLAR ZEN ANG

MIN SOLAR AZ ANG

MAX SOLAR AZ ANG

CRTFCN CODE

information contained on the level-3s data

files.]

[Determined by BORIS software from platform

information contained on the level-3s data

files.]

[Constant software value]

[Determined by BORIS software from processing of

the data files.]

[Assessed by BORIS personnel from viewing the

image.]

[Assessed by BORIS personnel from viewing the

image.]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from location

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Determined by BORIS software from platform

information contained on the level-3s data

files ]

[Calculated with software from latitude and

longitude and time information]

[Calculated with software from latitude and

longitude and time information]

[Calculated with software from latitude and

longitude and time information]

[Calculated with software from latitude and

longitude and time information]

[Assigned by BORIS based on processing.]

Page 12
7.3.5 Data Range

The maximum range of scaled at-sensor radiance values in each level-3a 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. The following

table gives information about the parameter values found in the inventory table on the CD-ROM.

Column Name

Minimum Maximum Missng Unrel Below Data

Data Data Data Data Detect Not

Value Value Value Value Limit Cllctd

SPATIAL COVERAGE N/A N/A None None None None

DATE OBS 22-JUN-84 30-JUL-96 None None None None

START TIME 1638 1735 None None None None

END TIME 1638 1735 None None None None

PLATFORM LANDSAT-5 LANDSAT-5 None None None None

INSTRUMENT THEMATIC THEMATIC None None None None

MAPPER MAPPER

NUM BANDS 7 7 None None None None

BAND QUALITY N/A N/A None None None None

CLOUD COVER N/A N/A None None None None

PATH NUM 33 38 None None None None

ROW NUM 21 23 None None None None

NW LATITUDE 54.0591 57.1963 None None None None

NW LONGITUDE -107.89 -97.8737 None None None None

NE LATITUDE 53.61007 56.43717 None None None None

NE LONGITUDE -104.75394 -94.81617 None None None None

SW LATITUDE 52.55109 55.7164 None None None None

SW LONGITUDE -108.4801 -99.2081 None None None None

SE LATITUDE 52.11603 54.96871 None None None None

SE LONGITUDE -105.44857 -95.84373 None None None None

PLATFORM ALTITUDE 705300 705300 None None None None

MIN SOLAR ZEN ANG 35.2 77.9 None None None None

MAX SOLAR ZEN ANG 35.2 77.9 None None None None

MIN SOLAR AZ ANG 132.5 154.6 None None None None

MAX SOLAR AZ ANG 132.5 154.6 None None None None

CRTFCN CODE CPI CPI None None None None

Minimum Data Value -- The minimum value found in the column.

Maximum Data Value -- The maximum value found in the column.

Missng Data Value -- The value that indicates missing data. This is used to

indicate that an attempt was made to determine the

parameter value, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

Unrel Data Value -- The value that indicates unreliable data. This is used

to indicate an attempt was made to determine the

parameter value, but the value was deemed to be

unreliable by the analysis personnel.

Below Detect Limit -- The value that indicates parameter values below the

instruments detection limits. This is used to

indicate that an attempt was made to determine the

parameter value, but the analysis personnel determined

that the parameter value was below the detection

limit of the instrumentation.

Data Not Cllctd -- This value indicates that no attempt was made to

determine the parameter value. This usually

Page 13
indicates that BORIS combined several similar but

not identical data sets into the same data base table

but this particular science team did not

measure that parameter.

Blank -- Indicates that blank spaces are used to denote that type of value.

N/A -- Indicates that the value is not applicable to the respective column.

None -- Indicates that no values of that sort were found in the column.

7.4 Sample Data Record

A sample data record for the level-3a Landsat TM images is not available here. The following are

wrapped versions of the first few records from the level-3a Landsat TM inventory table on the

CD-ROM:

SPATIAL COVERAGE,DATE OBS,START TIME,END TIME,PLATFORM, INSTRUMENT,NUM BANDS,

BAND QUALITY,CLOUD COVER, PATH NUM, ROW NUM, NW LATITUDE,NW LONGITUDE,NE LATITUDE,

NE LONGITUDE,SW LATITUDE,SW LONGITUDE,SE LATITUDE,SE LONGITUDE,PLATFORM ALTITUDE,

MIN SOLAR ZEN ANG,MAX SOLAR ZEN ANG,MIN SOLAR AZ ANG,MAX SOLAR AZ ANG,CRTFCN CODE

'NSA',22-JUN-84,1701,1701, 'LANDSAT-5', 'THEMATIC MAPPER',7, 'GOOD', '50%',33,21,

56.8912,-99.1682,56.40572,-95.89303,55.39045,-99.80904,54.92147,-96.65237,

705300.0,36.5,36.5,142.8,142.8, 'CPI'

'SSA',II-JUL-84,1732,1732, 'LANDSAT-5', 'THEMATIC MAPPER',7, 'GOOD',

'20% CLOUD COVER',38,22,55.1409,-107.731,54.6748,-104.5927,53.63487,

-i08.31922,53.18576,-i05.28952,705300.0,37.0,37.0,140.0,140.0, 'CPI'

8. Data Organization

8.1 Data Granularity

The smallest unit of data tracked by BORIS for the level-3a Landsat TM imagery is a full TM

scene.

8.2 Data Format(s)

The CD-ROM inventory listing file consists of numerical and character fields of varying length

separated by commas. The character fields are enclosed within single apostrophe marks. There are no

spaces between the fields.

8.2.1 Uneompressed Data Files

A level-3a Landsat TM image produced by BORIS contains eight files, an ASCII header file

followed by seven BSQ format image data files.

FILE 1 (90 byte ASCII text records)

• Description of level- 1a product files

• Original image header information (tape values are decoded based on the conventions outlined

in the User's Guide for Landsat Thematic Mapper Computer-Compatible Tapes, 1985;

EOSAT)

• Level-3a image coordinates

• Calibration information summary (gain and offset per band)

• Georeferencing information summary (minimum and maximum latitude/longitude)

• Coordinates (pixel, line and longitude, latitude) of the control points used to provide improved

georeferencing information

Page 14
FILES2 - 8 (Abandsequentialsetof files containingimagebands1to 7,respectively)

• Eachof the5728recordsin eachfile contains6920bytes

• Eachof the6920byterecordscontains69208-bit/one-bytepixelvalues

• Eachpixel valueisin unitsof digital counts(Seesection11.2)

• Eachimageis orientedsothatpixel 1,line 1is in theupperleft-handcorner(i.e.,northwest)

of thescreendisplay.Pixelsandlinesprogressleft to right, andtopto bottomsothatpixel n,

linen isin thelowerright-handcorner

8.2.2 Compressed CD-ROM Files

OntheBOREASCD-ROMs,file 1listedaboveis storedasASCII text;however,files2-8have

beencompressedwith theGzipcompressionprogram(filename*.gz).Thesedatahavebeen

compressedusinggzip version1.2.4andthehigh compression(-9)option(Copyright(C) 1992-1993

Jean-loupGailly). Gzip(GNUzip) usestheLempel-Zivalgorithm(Welch,1994)usedin thezip and

PKZIPprograms.Thecompressedfiles maybeuncompressedusinggzip (-d option)or gunzip.Gzip

is availablefrom manyWebsites(for example,ftp siteprep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gzip-*.*)for avariety

of operatingsystemsin bothexecutableandsourcecodeform.Versionsof thedecompression

softwarefor varioussystemsareincludedontheCD-ROMs.

9. Data Manipulations

9.1 Formulae

None.

9.1.1 Derivation Techniques and Algorithms

Not applicable.

9.2 Data Processing Sequence

9.2.1 Processing Steps

BORIS staff created the level-3a Landsat TM images by :

• Inventorying the level-3s or level-3p image by date and time in the online data base.

• Extracting the seven image bands and pertinent header information to online files from the

digital tape.

• Identifying a set of ground control points.

• Deriving a second-degree least squares fit to calculate latitude, longitude coordinates from

pixel, line values.

• Writing the files of information to tape.

• Copying the ASCII and compressing the binary files for release on CD-ROM.

Some cloud cover and image quality assessment information was generated when BORIS staff

processed the level-3s images to level-3a products. This information was entered into the BORIS data

base but is not included with the images on tape. To obtain this information, see the inventory file

included on the CD-ROMs or see Section 15.1.

The ground control points for the SSA were selected from 1:50,000-scale National Topographic

System (NTS) maps. Different maps will tend to have different levels of accuracy; however, all of the

control points that were used for each image have an error of no more than 1.5 pixels (45 meters).

The ground control points for the NSA were selected using 13 ground control points located in the

field with a global positioning system (GPS). Most of these points are road intersections within the

study area that are easily identifiable on the imagery. Because they are of such high precision, 13

points are sufficient to produce an acceptable transformation equation. These GPS coordinates were

determined and used in the NSA due to unexplainable discrepancies that resulted when points digitized

from the 1:50,000-scale NTS maps over the western portion of the NSA were used.

Page 15
TheNSA imagesfrom Path/Row34/21did notcovertheentirestudyareaandonly aportionof the

13GPSpointsfell within theseimages.Forsuchcases,anotherimageof theNSA thathadbeen

georeferencedusingGPSpointswasusedto performanimage-to-imageregistration.Thismadeit

possibleto selectenoughgroundcontrolpointsto produceagoodtransformationequation.

9.2.2 Processing Changes

AfterprocessingseveralLandsatTM imagesto level-3aproducts,anerrorwasdiscoveredin the

softwarethatcausedthelevel-3aimagesto contain6,930pixelsin eachimagelineversusthecorrect

6,920pixelsperimageline.After thesoftwareproblemwasdiscovered,thenumberof pixelsin the

subsequentlyprocessedimageswassetat 6,920.However,theimagesprocessedprior to thesoftware

changestill contain6,930pixelsperline. Theextra10pixelsarelocatedattheendof eachline and

containvaluesof zero.

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 and the ground control points as required to adjust the viewing model. Spectral

errors could arise from image-wide signal-to-noise ratio, saturation, cross-talk, spikes, and response

normalization caused by change in gain.

10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgment

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.

Page 16
10.2.3 Measurement Error for Parameters

The rms errors for the latitude and longitude least-squares equations are listed in the ASCII header

file of each image. The rms error for the selected points was approximately 1.5 pixels (i.e., 45 meters)

in the X and Y directions. Therefore, the overall RMS error for each scene should be below this

threshold.

10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments

The ability to reproduce coincident TM and ground measurements made for five dates at White

Sands, NM, to about 5% for bands 1-4 suggests a potential for monitoring sensor change for the

system with time. The images were screened for cloud cover before BORIS processing. Each level-3a

image has a minimum of cloud cover over the study areas.

10.2.5 Data Verification by Data Center

BORIS staff checked the image files by visually inspecting them on a display screen and reading

the ASCII header files for correctness.

11. Notes

11.1 Limitations of the Data

None.

11.2 Known Problems with the Data

To date, the following discrepancies/problems have been noted in the data:

• Because of a software error, the first several level-3a Landsat TM images created contain

6,930 pixels rather than the correct 6,920 pixels. The last 10 pixel values may or may not

contain spurious values but should be ignored.

• The ASCII header files for the level-3a products contain gain and offset values for the seven

TM bands. The units as given in the header files for the gain and offset values are in error.

The proper units for the offset value are watts/(m2 * sr * pro). The proper units for the gain

value are watts/(m2 * sr * pm * DN).

• Some header files refer to level-lA rather than level-3A or to L1A rather than L3A because

they were created by software prior to BORIS finalization of data categories.

• The 15-Aug-1986 scene for Path/Row 33/21 has an error in its list of ground control points.

Control point number 612 is listed, but the pixel and line information actually corresponds to

point number 613. Therefore, latitude/longitude coordinates for point 613 should be used

from the list below.

• Level-3a images for the BOREAS NSA (Path/Row 33/21, 34/21) have ground control points

in the ASCII header file numbered 601 through 629. The updated coordinates for these points

should be:

Point

Number Longitude Latitude

601

602

603

604

605

606

607

608

609

610

98 82064W

98 82180W

98 78512W

97 91873W

97 85946W

98 83772W

97 83192W

97 90285W

97 89372W

97 86028W

55

55

55

55

55

55

55

55

55

55

.88655N

88114N

88217N

81210N

78508N

77294N

76364N

69227N

70106N

73037N

Page 17
611

612

613

620

621

622

623

624

625

626

627

628

629

97 85835W

98 09482W

98 05691W

98 92360W

98 85014W

98 42479W

98 08685W

98 37678W

98 45378W

98 54973W

98 35490W

98 36780W

98 36713W

11.3 Usage Guidance

55 72543N

55 51495N

55 53442N

55 70465N

55 80254N

55 91969N

55 86547N

55 68005N

55 84137N

55 70142N

55 72299N

56 13641N

56 01236N

Before uncompressing the Gzip files on CD-ROM, be sure that you have enough disk space to

hold the uncompressed data files. Then use the appropriate decompression program provided on the

CD-ROM for your specific system.

11.4 Other Relevant Information

None.

12. Application of the Data Set

The level-3a Landsat TM images are useful for anyone interested in high spatial resolution imagery

over the entire NSA or SSA.

None.

13. Future Modifications and Plans

14. Software

14.1 Software Description

BORIS staff developed software and command procedures to:

• Process level-3s and -3p Landsat TM images on tape to level-3a products on disk.

• Write the level-3a Landsat TM products from disk to tape.

• Extract header information from level-3a Landsat TM images on tape.

• Copy level-3a Landsat TM images from tape to disk.

• Log level-3a Landsat TM image products into the Oracle data base tables.

• Convert image header coordinates between the geographic systems of (latitude, longitude),

UTM (northing, easting), and BOREAS (x,y) grid locations.

The software mentioned under items 1 to 5 is written in C and is operational on VAX 6410 and

MicroVAX 3100 systems at GSFC. The primary dependencies in the software are the tape input/output

(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.

Gzip (GNU zip) uses the Lempel-Ziv algorithm (Welch, 1994) used in the zip and PKZIP

commands.

Page 18
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.

Gzip is available from many Web sites across the Internet (for example, ftp site

prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gzip-*.*) for a variety of operating systems in both executable and source

code form. Versions of the decompression software for various systems are included on the

CD-ROMs.

15. Data Access

The level-3a Landsat TM images are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information

System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center

(DAAC).

15.1 Contact Information

For BOREAS data and documentation please contact:

ORNL DAAC User Services

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

P.O. Box 2008 MS-6407

Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6407

Phone: (423) 241-3952

Fax: (423) 574-4665

E-mail: ornldaac@ornl.gov or ornl@eos.nasa.gov

15.2 Data Center Identification

Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory

(ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for Biogeochemical Dynamics

http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/.

15.3 Procedures for Obtaining Data

Although the BOREAS level-3a 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 the Landsat TM images on the CD-ROMs are available for unrestricted use. However,

the other images in the collection are available only to official BOREAS project personnel. Please

contact the ORNL DAAC User Services office to get the most recent information.

Users may obtain data directly through the ORNL DAAC online search and order system

[http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/] and the anonymous FTP site [ftp://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/data/] or by

contacting User Services by electronic mail, telephone, fax, letter, or personal visit using the contact

information in Section 15.1.

15.4 Data Center Status/Plans

The ORNL DAAC is the primary source for BOREAS field measurement, image, GIS, and

hardcopy data products. The BOREAS CD-ROM and data referenced or listed in inventories on the

CD-ROM are available from the ORNL DAAC.

Page 19
16. Output Products and Availability

16.1 Tape Products

The level-3a Landsat TM data can be made available on 8-mm, Digital Archive Tape (DAT), or

9-track tapes at 1600 or 6250 Bytes Per Inch (BPI).

Although the BOREAS level-3a 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 the Landsat TM images on the CD-ROMs are available for unrestricted use. However,

the other images in the collection are available only to official BOREAS project personnel. Please

contact the ORNL DAAC User Services office (see Section 15.1) to get the most recent information.

16.2 Film Products

None.

16.3 Other Products

Although the entire level-3a image inventory is contained on the BOREAS CD-ROM set, only

some of the images are included there. See Section 15 for information about how to obtain images not

on the CD-ROMs.

17. References

17.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/Data Processing Documentation

Multispectral Scanner System for ERTS. 1972. HS324-5214. Hughes Aircraft Corporation. Santa

Barbara, CA.

User's Guide for Landsat Thematic Mapper Computer-Compatible Tapes. 1985. Earth Observation

Satellite Company. Lanham, MD.

Welch, T.A. 1984. A Technique for High Performance Data Compression. IEEE Computer, Vol. 17,

No. 6, pp. 8-19.

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.

Page 20
Kanemasu,E.T., J.L. Heilman,J.O.Bagley,andW.L. Powers.1977.Using Landsatdatato

estimateevapotranspirationof winterwheat.EnvironmentalManagement.1:515-520.

Lulla, K. 1983.TheLandsatsatellitesandselectedaspectsof PhysicalGeography.Progressin Phy.

Geogr.7:1-45.

Malila, W.A. 1985.Comparisonof theInformationContentsof LandsatTM andMSSData.

PhotogrammetricEngineeringandRemoteSensing.51:1449-1457.

Newcomer,J.,D. Landis,S.Conrad,S.Curd,K. Huemmrich,D. Knapp,A. Morrell, J.Nickeson,

A. Papagno,D. Rinker,R.Strub,T. Twine,F. Hall, andP.Sellers,eds.2000.CollectedDataof The

BorealEcosystem-AtmosphereStudy.NASA. CD-ROM.

Pollock,R.B.andE.T.Kanemasu.1979.Estimatingleaf-areaindexof wheatwith Landsatdata.

RemoteSens.Environ.8:307-312.

Robinov,C.J.1982.Computationwith physicalvaluesfrom Landsatdigital data.Photogr.Engr.&

Rein.Sens.48:781-784.

Salomonson,V.V. 1984.Landsat4 and5 statusandresultsfrom ThematicMapperdataanalysis.

Proceedings.MachineProcessingof RemotelySensedDataSymposium.Lab.for theApplicationsof

RemoteSensing.WestLafayette,IN. p 13-18.

Satterwhite,M.B. 1984.DiscriminatingvegetationandsoilsusingLandsatMSSandThematicMapper

bandsandbandratios.TechnicalPapers.50thAnnualMeetingof theAmer.Soc.of Photogr.

2:479-485.

Sellers,P.andF.Hall. 1994.BorealEcosystem-AtmosphereStudy:ExperimentPlan.Version

1994-3.0,NASA BOREASReport(EXPLAN 94).

Sellers,P.andF.Hall. 1996.BorealEcosystem-AtmosphereStudy:ExperimentPlan.Version

1996-2.0,NASA BOREASReport(EXPLAN 96).

Sellers,P.,F. Hall, andK.F. Huemmrich.1996.BorealEcosystem-AtmosphereStudy:1994

Operations.NASA BOREASReport(OPSDOC94).

Sellers,P.,F. Hall, andK.F. Huemmrich.1997.BorealEcosystem-AtmosphereStudy:1996

Operations.NASA BOREASReport(OPSDOC96).

Sellers,P.,F. Hall, H. Margolis,B. Kelly, D. Baldocchi,G. denHartog,J.Cihlar, M.G. Ryan,B.

Goodison,P.Crill, K.J.Ranson,D. Lettenmaier,andD.E. Wickland. 1995.Theboreal

ecosystem-atmospherestudy(BOREAS):anoverviewandearlyresultsfrom the1994field year.

Bulletinof theAmericanMeteorologicalSociety.76(9):1549-1577.

Sellers,P.J.,F.G.Hall, R.D.Kelly, A. Black, D. Baldocchi,J. Berry, M. Ryan,K.J. Ranson,P.M.

Crill, D.P.Lettenmaier,H. Margolis,J.Cihlar, J.Newcomer,D. Fitzjarrald,P.G.Jarvis,S.T.

Gower,D. Halliwell, D. Williams, B. Goodison,D.E.Wickland, andF.E.Guertin.1997.BOREAS

in 1997:ExperimentOverview,ScientificResultsandFutureDirections.Journalof Geophysical

Research102(D24):28,731-28,770.

Singh,A.N. andR.S.Dwived. 1986.TheUtility of LandsatImageryasanIntegralPartof theData

Basefor SmallScaleSoil Mapping.Int. J.RemoteSensing.7:1099-1108.

Page21
Taranik,J.V. 1978.Characteristicsof theLandsat 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. & Rein. 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 Remote Sensing. GE-22.

17.3 Arehive/DBMS Usage Documentation

None.

None.

18. Glossary of Terms

19. List of Acronyms

ASCII

BOREAS

BORIS

BPI

BSQ

CCRS

CCT

CD-ROM

DAAC

DAT

DN

EOS

EOSDIS

ERTS

FOLD

FOV

FPAR

GICS

GIS

GMT

GPS

GSFC

IFOV

I/O

LAI

LGSOWG

LTWG

MSS

NAD27

NAD83

NASA

- American Standard Code for Information Interchange

- BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study

- BOREAS Information System

- Bytes Per Inch

- Band Sequential

- Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

- Computer-Compatible Tape

- Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory

- Distributed Active Archive Center

- Digital Archive Tape

- Digital Number

- Earth Observing System

- EOS Data and Information System

- Earth Resources Technology Satellite

- Federally Owned Landsat Database

- Field of View

- Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation

- Geocoded Image Correction System

- Geographic Information System

- Greenwich Mean Time

- Global Positioning System

- Goddard Space Flight Center

- Instantaneous Field-of-View

- Input/Output

- Leaf Area Index

- Landsat Ground Station Operations Working Group

- LGSOWG Technical Working Group

- Multispectral Scanner

- North American Datum of 1927

- North American Datum of 1983

- National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Page 22
NE

NSA

NTS

ORNL

PANP

rms

RSI

SBRC

SSA

TIPS

TM

URL

UTM

WWW

- Noise Equivalent

- Northern Study Area

- National Topographic System

- Oak Ridge National Laboratory

- Prince Albert National Park

- root-mean-square

- Radarsat International

- Santa Barbara Research Center

- Southern Study Area

- Thematic Mapper Image Processing

- Thematic Mapper

- Uniform Resource Locator

- Universal Transverse Mercator

- World Wide Web

System

20. Document Information

20.1 Document Revision Dates

Written: 18-Oct- 1994

Last Updated: 29-Nov- 1999

20.2 Document Review Dates

BORIS Review: 20-Feb- 1998

Science Review: 27-Feb- 1998

20.3 Document ID

20.4 Citation

When using these data, please include the following acknowledgment as well as citations of

relevant papers in Section 17.2:

The Landsat TM level-3a images resulted from a joint development and processing effort between

BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) staff at the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

(CCRS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center

(GSFC). The original level-3s and -3p data were acquired by CCRS and processed by Radarsat

International (RSI) under an agreement with CCRS. The respective contributions of the above

individuals and agencies to completing this data set are greatly appreciated.

If using data from the BOREAS CD-ROM series, also reference the data as:

BOREAS Staff Science, "BOREAS Staff Science Satellite Data Acquisition Program." In Collected

Data of The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study. Eds. J. Newcomer, D. Landis, S. Conrad, S.

Curd, K. Huemmrich, D. Knapp, A. Morrell, J. Nickeson, A. Papagno, D. Rinker, R. Strub, T.

Twine, F. Hall, and P. Sellers. CD-ROM. NASA, 2000.

Also, cite the BOREAS CD-ROM set as:

Newcomer, J., D. Landis, S. Conrad, S. Curd, K. Huemmrich, D. Knapp, A. Morrell, J.

Nickeson, A. Papagno, D. Rinker, R. Strub, T. Twine, F. Hall, and P. Sellers, eds. Collected Data of

The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study. NASA. CD-ROM. NASA, 2000.

20.5 Document Curator

20.6 Document URL

Page 23
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE FormApproved

OMB No. 0704-0188

Public reporting burden for this collection of informationis estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,

gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this

collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson

Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503.

1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED

September 2000 Technical Memorandum

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS

Technical Report Series on the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS)

BOREAS Level-3a Landsat TM hnagery: Scaled At-sensor Radiance in BSQ 923

Format

6. AUTHOR(S) RTOP: 923-462-33-01

Jaime Nickeson, David Knapp, Jeffrey A. Newcomer, and Josef Cihlar

Forrest G. Hall, Editor

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS (ES)

Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS (ES)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Washington, DC 20546-0001

8. PEFORMING ORGANIZATION

REPORT NUMBER

2000-03136-0

10. SPONSORING / MONITORING

AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

TM--2000-209891

Vol. 96

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

J. Nickeson, D. Knapp, J.A. Newcomer: Raytheon ITSS, Greenbelt, Maryland;

J. Cihlar: Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Unclassifie_Unlimited

Subject Category: 43

Report available from the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information,

7121 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076-1320. (301) 621-0390.

12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE

13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)

For BOREAS, the level-3a 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. Although very similar in content to the level-3s Landsat TM products, the level-3a images

were created to provide users with a more usable BSQ format and to provide information that permitted direct determination of per-pixel latitude and longitude coordinates. Geographically, the level-3a

images cover the BOREAS NSA and SSA. Temporally, the images cover the period of 22-Jun-1984 to

30-Jul-1996. The images are available in binary, image-format files. With permission from CCRS and

RSI, several of the full-resolution images are included on the BOREAS CD-ROM series. Due to

copyright issues, the images not included on the CD-ROM may not be publicly available. See Sections

15 and 16 for information about how to acquire the data. Information about the images not on the CDROMs is provided in an inventory listing on the CD-ROMs.

14. SUBJECT TERMS

BOREAS, remote sensing science, Landsat TM data.

17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

OF REPORT

Unclassified

NSN 7540-01-280-5500

18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

OF THIS PAGE

Unclassified

19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

OF ABSTRACT

Unclassified

15. NUMBER OF PAGES

23

16. PRICE CODE

20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

UL

Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89)

Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18

298-102