Bulk processing of the Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+ archive of the European Space Agency

Abstract

Landsat is a joint USGS and NASA space program for Earth Observation ( EO ), which represents the world’s longest running system of satellites for moderate-resolution. The European Space Agency ( ESA ) has acquired Landsat data over Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East during the last 40 years. A new ESA Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner ( MSS ), Thematic Mapper ( TM ) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus ( ETM+ ) processor has been developed. This enhanced processor aligns historical Landsat products to the highest quality standards that can be achieved with the current knowledge of the instruments. The updated processor is mainly based on the USGS algorithm; however it has some different features that are detailed in this paper. Current achievements include the processing and availability of approximately 860,000 new TM/ETM+ high-quality products between 1983 and 2011 from the Kiruna (S), Maspalomas (E) and Matera (I) archives; Matera includes data from the Fucino (I), Neustrelitz (D), O’Higgins (Antarctica), Malindi (Kenya), Libreville (Gabon) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) ground stations. The products are freely available for immediate download to the users through a very fast and simple dissemination service (at: https://landsat-ds.eo.esa.int/app/) and through ESA’s browsing system, EOLI. The remaining MSS data, dating back more than 40 years, will gradually become available during 2015 and 2016. The ESA Landsat processor algorithm enhancement, together with the results of the ESA archive bulk-processing data regarding production, quality control and data validation are herein presented.