Data Series 968


Land-Cover Types, Shoreline Positions, and Sand Extents Derived From Landsat Satellite Imagery, Assateague Island to Metompkin Island, Maryland and Virginia, 1984 to 2014

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Abstract
Introduction
Data Sources
Image Processing
Image Classification
Data Downloads
References Cited
Abbreviations
 

Image Processing

All images were processed using Intergraph Corporation ERDAS IMAGINE® 2014 software. Prior to image classification, each Landsat Level 1 data product was stacked into a composite multi-band image file and then converted to at-sensor radiance and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance; finally, adjacent scenes (Worldwide Reference System 2 [WRS-2] path 14 row 33 and path 14 row 34) were mosaicked to a single image and clipped to the study area extent. The six reflective bands (visible blue, green, and red; near infrared; and two short-wave infrared bands) for each sensor were stacked and used in subsequent processing and analyses (table 2). Radiometric processing reduces scene-to-scene variability due to gain changes between scenes or differences in solar zenith angles, exoatmospheric solar irradiance, and the earth-sun distance resulting from different acquisition dates and times (Chavez, 1988, 1989, 1996; Chander and others, 2009).

Table 2. Comparison of Landsat 5 and equivalent Landsat 8 spectral bands used in image analyses (U.S. Geological Survey, 2012). [Abbreviation: μm, micron]
Spectral Range Landsat 5 Band Wavelength (μm) Landsat 8 Band Wavelength (μm)
Visible blue Band 1 0.45-0.52 Band 2 0.45-0.51
Visible green Band 2 0.52-0.60 Band 3 0.53-0.59
Visible red Band 3 0.63-0.69 Band 4 0.64-0.67
Near infrared Band 4 0.77-0.90 Band 5 0.85-0.88
Short-wave infrared Band 5 1.55-1.75 Band 6 1.57-1.65
Short-wave infrared Band 7 2.09-2.35 Band 7 2.11-2.29