Landsat Thematic Mapper Site Reflectances for FIFE Ground Sites

Satellite Landsat TM Extr. Data (FIFE) provides instrument-corrected spectral radiances and derived reflectance values for seven spectral bands across 39 ground measurement sites. The dataset was produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from original Thematic Mapper sensor data collected between February 1987 and October 1989. It includes associated view and solar angles, with reflectance values corrected for atmospheric effects using specific aerosol and gaseous absorption measurements.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived land surface reflectance models using the seven spectral band reflectance values.
• Analyzing the relationship between solar irradiance and surface properties using the provided view and solar angles.
• Studying atmospheric correction algorithms by comparing instrument-corrected radiances with exoatmospherically corrected reflectance values.
• Investigating temporal changes in surface thermal properties using thermal channel data corrected with the Lowtran-7 model.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from a standardized satellite sensor (Landsat Thematic Mapper) across a 33-month collection period.
• Atmospheric corrections are applied using documented algorithms (Fraser et al., 1989) and models (Lowtran-7).
• Dataset is spatially anchored to 39 specific FIFE ground measurement sites, enabling ground-truth validation.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2026-03-12 on datagov vs. 1988-09-26 on nasa_earthdata), creating uncertainty about maintenance.
• License is ambiguously specified as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Original data collected by the Landsat Thematic Mapper sensor system, with radiances corrected and reflectances derived using atmospheric measurements and specific correction algorithms.

Time Range

February 1987 to October 1989

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:08:54.021879

Geography

39 FIFE (First ISLSCP Field Experiment) ground measurement sites.