1972 onward Landsat imagery collection covering Alaska and surrounding areas, curated by the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute. The collection includes Multispectral Scanner System (MSS), Return Beam Vidicon (RBV), and Thematic Mapper (TM) data. Unique data was acquired from 1982 to 1991 via the Geophysical Institute Quick Look Project.
Use Cases
- Analyze land cover change over time using the four MSS spectral bands (Green, Red, Near IR1, Near IR2) across scenes.
- Train models for glacier or sea ice extent detection using the 80-meter resolution pixel data from the MSS sensor.
- Conduct comparative studies of sensor performance by leveraging data from the MSS, RBV, and TM instruments within the same geographic region.
- Map historical vegetation health indices (e.g., NDVI) from the near-infrared and red band reflectance values in the imagery.
Strengths
- Provides temporal coverage from 1972 onward, enabling multi-decadal analysis.
- Includes unique data not found in the EROS Data Center, acquired from 1982 to 1991.
- Contains imagery from multiple sensor systems: MSS, RBV, and TM.
Limitations
- Spatial coverage is limited to Alaska and surrounding areas, not global.
- Primary sensor (MSS) has a coarse nominal pixel resolution of 80 meters.
- Specific row counts, file sizes, and update recency are unknown.
Provenance
- Source
- University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, GeoData Center, with data originally from NASA, EROS Data Center, Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing, and EOSAT.
- Collection Method
- Acquired via direct transfers from agencies and recorded by the Geophysical Institute Quick Look Project at the NOAA Gilmore Tracking Station.
- Time Range
- 1972 onward
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Alaska and surrounding areas