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Band 1 coastal aerosol
0.43 0.45
coastal and aerosol studies
Question:
What are the best spectral band
s to use for my study?
Band 2 blue
0.45 0.51
Bathymetric mapping, distinguishing soil from vegetation and deciduous from coniferous vegetation
Answer:
Band 3 green
0.53 0.59
Emphasizes peak vegetation, which is useful for assessing plant vigor
Band
0.64 0.67
Discriminates vegetation slopes
Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)
Band 5 Near Infrared (NIR)
0.850.88
Emphasizes biomass content and shorelines
Band 6 Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) 1
1.57 1.65
Discriminates moisture content of soil and vegetation penetrates thin clouds
Band 7 Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) 2
2.11 2.29
Improved moisture content of soil and vegetation and thin cloud penetration
Band 8 Panchromatic
0.50 0.68
15 meter resolution, sharper image definition
Band 9 Cirrus
1.36 1.38
Improved detection of cirrus cloud contamination
Band 10 TIRS 1
10.60 11.19
Band 11 TIRS 2
11.5 12.51
Tools & Services
Contact Us
Useful for mapping
Band 4 red
Frequently Asked
Education &
Outreach
Wavelength
100 meter resolution, thermal mapping and estimated soil moisture
100 meter resolution, Improved thermal mapping and estimated soil moisture
This is a common question consi
dered by all users of remotely s
ensed data. The level of detail (
spatial resolution) is often the m
ost interesting aspect of viewin
g a satellite image,
but less appreciated is how chan
ges in irradiative energy reflecte
d by different surface materials
are used to identify features of i
nterest.
Landsat MSS 4,5 Spectral
Bands
Landsat MSS 1, 2,3 Spectral
Bands
Wavelength
Useful for mapping
Band 4 green
Band 1 green
0.5 0.6
Sedimentladen water, delineates areas of shallow water
Band 5 red
Band 2 red
0.6 0.7
Cultural features
Band 6 Near Infrared
Band 3 Near Infrared
0.7 0.8
Vegetation boundary between land and water, and landforms
Band 7 Near Infrared
Band 4 Near Infrared
0.8 1.1
Penetrates atmospheric haze best, emphasizes vegetation, boundary between land and
water, and landforms
Band
Wavelength
Useful for mapping
Band 1 blue
0.45 0.52
Bathymetric mapping, distinguishing soil from vegetation and deciduous from coniferous vegetation
Band 2 green
0.52 0.60
Emphasizes peak vegetation, which is useful for assessing plant vigor
Band 3 red
0.63 0.69
Discriminates vegetation slopes
Band 4 Near Infrared
0.77 0.90
Emphasizes biomass content and shorelines
Band 5 Shortwave Infrared
1.55 1.75
Discriminates moisture content of soil and vegetation penetrates thin clouds
Band 6 Thermal Infrared
10.40 12.50
Thermal mapping and estimated soil moisture
Band 7 Shortwave Infrared
2.09 2.35
Hydrothermally altered rocks associated with mineral deposits
Band 8 Panchromatic (Landsat 7 only)
0.52 0.90
15 meter resolution, sharper image definition
Landsat 45 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)
Landsat Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS)
channels,
different satellite
sensors
thetool
intensity
of theby
many
wavelengths
(colors)
of light.
This isObservation
also known and
as the
relative
spectral
response
(RSR).how
By overlaying
The
SpectralofCharacteristics
Viewer
is anmeasure
interactive
developed
scientists
at the USGS
Earth
Resources
Science
(EROS)
Center
to visualize
the bands,the
or
spectral curves from different features (spectra), one can determine which bands of the selected sensor will work for the application.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://landsat.usgs.gov
Page Contact Information: Ask Landsat
Page Last Modified: 09/21/15 09:42 am
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