Landsat Thermal Infrared Data

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Landsat Thermal Infrared Data
Ray Byrnes Liaison for Satellite Missions Land
Remote Sensing Program U.S. Geological
Survey Water Resources Committee
Meeting Arlington, VA March 6, 2008
Mt. Etna, Sicily - July 13, 2001
Mt. Etna, Sicily - July 29, 2001
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Current Thermal Data Sources via
glovis.usgs.gov or earthexplorer.usgs.gov

• Landsat 5 (1984-present) Thermal data at 10.4 -
  12.5um, 120m ground resolution, 185km swath.
  Global mission no data relay
• Full U.S. coverage scheduled for 2008 growing
  season
• Could last through 2011 could fail much sooner
• Orthorectified scenes up to 20 cloud cover to be
  posted on Internet in 2009
• Landsat 7 (1999-present) Thermal data at 10.4 -
  12.5um, 60m ground resolution, 185km swath.
  Global mission
• Orthorectified scenes up to 20 cloud cover
  posted on Internet
• Full U.S. coverage scheduled for 2008 growing
  season
• Could last through 2011 could fail sooner
• ASTER instrument on NASAs Terra satellite
  (1999-present)
• Five bands (8.125 - 11.65um), 90m ground
  resolution, 60km swath, user- driven data
  acquisitions

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Thermal Instrument Status for Landsat Data
Continuity Mission (LDCM)

• NASA
• Conducted preliminary engineering studies in FY07
  on thermal instrument
• Two thermal bands (10.3 - 11.3um and 11.5 -
  12.5um), 185km swath, 120m
• ground resolution, five-year design life
  microbolometer technology
• Estimates additional 90-100M needed to build
  instrument
• Will include location for thermal instrument in
  satellite design/build
• Estimates launch delay of over 1 year to build,
  incorporate thermal instrument
• Preparing report requested by Congress on Landsat
  data continuity
• USGS
• Consistently supports user requirements for
  thermal capability
• Has no funding identified for thermal data
  processing in ground system
• Landsat Science Team recommends staying with 2011
  launch schedule and finding an alternative source
  for thermal data

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Key Points

• Landsat thermal data produce efficient estimates
  of water consumption
• Estimated 1B savings over ten years in the
  western U.S. for water consumption monitoring
  Morse, A. 2003. Comparison of ground water
  monitoring costs as a reason to maintain the
  thermal band on the Landsat Data Continuity
  Mission A quick look. Report to the Idaho Dept.
  of Water Resources, Boise, ID, 5 p.
• Use of Landsat thermal data in lieu of
  expensive and problematic pump flow
  measurements, site visits, and electrical power
  consumption records Allen, R.G. The Need to
  Continue High Resolution Thermal Imagery
• No other satellite system, current or planned,
  provides the thermal imagery required for water
  management in the U.S.
• Thermal imaging at the Landsat scale should be a
  baseline requirement for post-LDCM operational
  missions supported by the National Land Imaging
  Program

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Back-ups
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Applications of Landsat Thermal Data

• Landsat thermal data are used operationally to
  monitor water consumption on a field-by-field
  basis

• Water rights regulation and administration are
  critically tied to identification and
  quantification of water consumption on a
  field-by-field basis - Allen, R.G. The Need to
  Continue High Resolution Thermal Imagery
• Typical irrigated field sizes in the U.S. range
  from 180m to 750m on a side
• Quantification of water use from Landsat using
  thermal data is the only way to independently and
  consistently measure water use on a
  field-by-field basis - Morse, A., and R.G.
  Allen. Water and the Critical Need for a Thermal
  Band on Landsat

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Water Management Issue

• From DOI (2003) Water 2025
• Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West
• Realities
• explosive population growth in areas of the West
  where water is already scarce.
• water shortages occur frequently in the West
• over-allocated watersheds can cause crisis and
  conflict
• water facilities are aging
• Water consumed
• by agriculture and
• landscape irrigation

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Thermal Data Users

• At least 13 projects in 11 western states use
  Landsat thermal data to map water consumption
• USDA Agricultural Research Service identified 75
  users of Landsat thermal data of which 60 were
  using the data for water management
• World Bank cites thermal data use for projects in
  China, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan,
  Kazakhstan, and Yemen
• WaterWatch and SEBAL North America, Inc., claim
  over 150 projects in over 15 countries use
  proprietary Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for
  Land (SEBAL)

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Additional Benefits of Landsat Thermal Data
(cont.)

• Landsat thermal data are used for wildfire risk
  assessment, wildfire detection, and burnt area
  mapping
• Supports USFS Burned Area Emergency
  Rehabilitation (BAER) teams

(Images from A. Vidal)
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Additional Benefits of Landsat Thermal Data

• Estimates of evapotranspiration rates are also
  used for
• mapping drought / crop stress
• projecting crop yields
• improving moisture boundary conditions to weather
  forecasts
• flood and streamflow forecasting
• soil moisture mapping (irrigation,
  trafficability, etc.)
• Landsat thermal data are used to observe natural
  hazards and human impacts
• volcanic hazard assessment, monitoring, and
  recovery lava flow
• mapping thermally active areas
• locating underground coal fires
• monitoring glaciers and glacial lakes
• mapping urban heat fluxes for air quality
  modeling (urban heat island)
• mapping lake thermal plumes from power plants
• monitoring non-point pollution sources
• tracking material transport in lakes and coastal
  regions