Acquisition probability differences in cloud coverage of the available Landsat observations over mainland Southeast Asia from 1986 to 2015

Landsat data are the longest available records that consistently document global change. However, the extent and degree of cloud coverage typically determine its usability, especially in the tropics. In this study, scene-based metadata from the U.S. Geological Survey Landsat inventories, ten-day, mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of digital earth 2018-05, Vol.11 (5), p.437-450
Main Authors: Li, Peng, Feng, Zhiming, Xiao, Chiwei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acquisition probability (AP)
Cloud cover
cloud coverage (CC)
Clouds
Dry season
Geological surveys
Image acquisition
Image enhancement
Image quality
Imagery
Land cover
land cover and land use changes
Landsat
Landsat satellites
mainland Southeast Asia
Probability
Probability theory
Rainy season
Remote sensing
Satellite imagery
Satellite observation
Seasons
Statistical methods
Surveying
Temporal distribution
Thresholds
Tropical environments
Wet season
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Summary:Landsat data are the longest available records that consistently document global change. However, the extent and degree of cloud coverage typically determine its usability, especially in the tropics. In this study, scene-based metadata from the U.S. Geological Survey Landsat inventories, ten-day, monthly, seasonal, and annual acquisition probabilities (AP) of targeted images at various cloud coverage thresholds (10% to 100%) were statistically analyzed using available Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI observations over mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) from 1986 to 2015. Four significant results were found. First, the cumulative average acquisition probability of available Landsat observations over MSEA at the 30% cloud cover (CC) threshold was approximately 41.05%. Second, monthly and ten-day level probability statistics for the 30% CC threshold coincide with the temporal distribution of the dry and rainy seasons. This demonstrates that Landsat images acquired during the dry season satisfy the requirements needed for land cover monitoring. Third, differences in acquisition probabilities at the 30% CC threshold are different between the western and eastern regions of MSEA. Finally, the ability of TM, ETM+, and OLI to acquire high-quality imagery has gradually enhanced over time, especially during the dry season, along with consequently larger probabilities at lower CC thresholds.
ISSN:1753-8947
1753-8955
DOI:10.1080/17538947.2017.1327619