BOREAS Landsat TM Level-3a Scaled Radiance Imagery

Landsat TM Level-3a imagery provides scaled at-sensor radiance data for the BOREAS Northern and Southern Study Areas in Canada. The dataset, created by NASA, contains binary image-format files covering a 12-year period from 1984 to 1996. It includes detailed land cover and biophysical parameter maps such as FPAR and LAI.

Use Cases

• Land cover classification using detailed pixel-level land cover information.
• Biophysical parameter analysis for deriving FPAR and LAI maps.
• Radiant energy studies with scaled at-sensor radiance values.
• Spatial analysis of boreal forest ecosystems across the NSA and SSA regions.
• Time-series analysis of land surface changes from 1984 to 1996.

Strengths

• Provides a 12-year temporal record from June 1984 to July 1996.
• Offers spatially extensive coverage of the primary BOREAS NSA and SSA study areas.
• Includes companion files like an image inventory for data discovery.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13, while NASA Earthdata lists 1996-07 -30, suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• Specific row counts, column names, and dataset size are not provided across all sources.
• Data is stored in binary image format, requiring specialized tools for analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Remotely sensed Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery processed to Level-3a.

Time Range

22-Jun-1984 to 30-Jul-1996

Freshness

2026-03-13 07:27:30.485821

Geography

BOREAS Northern Study Area (NSA) and Southern Study Area (SSA)