Fifty years of Landsat science and impacts

Authors: WULDER, M. - Canadian Forest Service; ROY, D. - South Dakota State University; RADELOFF, V. - Collaborator; LOVELAND, T. - Us Geological Survey (USGS); Anderson, Martha; JOHNSON, D. - National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, USDA); HEALEY, S. - Us Forest Service (FS); ZHU, Z. - Beijing Normal University; SCAMBOS, T. - University Of Colorado; PAHLEVAN, N. - Science Systems And Applications, Inc; HANSEN, M. - University Of Maryland; GORELICK, N. - Google; CRAWFORD, C. - Us Geological Survey (USGS); MASEK, J. - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA); HERMOSILLA, T. - University Of British Columbia; WHITE, J. - Canadian Forest Service; BELWARD, A. - European Commission-Joint Research Centre (JRC); SCHAAF, C. - University Of Massachusetts; WOODCOCK, C. - Boston University; HUNTINGTON, J. - Desert Research Institute; LYMBURNER, L. - Geoscience Australia; HOSTERT, P. - University Of Humbolt; Gao, Feng; LYAPUSTIN, A. - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA); PEKEL, J-F - European Commission-Joint Research Centre (JRC); STROBL, P. - European Commission-Joint Research Centre (JRC); COOK, B.D - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA)

Submitted to: Remote Sensing of Environment
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/21/2022
Publication Date: 7/28/2022
Citation: Wulder, M., Roy, D., Radeloff, V., Loveland, T., Anderson, M.C., Johnson, D., Healey, S., Zhu, Z., Scambos, T., Pahlevan, N., Hansen, M., Gorelick, N., Crawford, C., Masek, J., Hermosilla, T., White, J., Belward, A., Schaaf, C., Woodcock, C., Huntington, J., Lymburner, L., Hostert, P., Gao, F.N., Lyapustin, A., Pekel, J., Strobl, P., Cook, B. 2022. Fifty years of Landsat science and impacts. Remote Sensing of Environment. 280. Article 113195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113195.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113195

Interpretive Summary: The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972 and has since been providing a continuous record of changing land-surface conditions at the scale of human influence (down to 15-30 m pixels). Landsat collects imaging data over a broad range of wavelengths, providing information about soils, land cover/land use, vegetation cover and biomass, crop phenology and water use, surface water bodies, snowpack and glaciers and many other components of the global ecosystem. Importantly, with the 50-year record of imaging collected to date, we can see how these properties have changed over time due to changing climate, urban expansion, and growing population. This paper outlines major advancements in our understanding of the Earth system that have been achieved using the Landsat archive, focusing on areas of agricultural crop mapping and water use, climate change drivers and impacts, ecosystems and land cover monitoring, and mapping the changing human footprint. It also looks forward to the next generation of Landsat satellites – Landsat-Next – and how these platforms may evolve in response to technical progress and science and application needs.

Technical Abstract: Since 1972, the Landsat satellite program has been continually monitoring the Earth, to provide 50 years of digital, multispectral, medium spatial resolution observations. Over this time, Landsat data were crucial for many scientific and technical advances. Prior to the Landsat program, detailed, synoptic depictions of the Earth’s surface were rare, and the ability to acquire and work with large datasets was limited. The early years of the Landsat program delivered a series of technological breakthroughs, demonstrating the ability, capacity, and methods for using digital satellite imagery, serving as a template for other global Earth observation missions and programs. Innovations driven by the Landsat program have paved the way for subsequent science, application, and policy support activities. The economic and scientific value of the knowledge gained through the Landsat program has been long recognized, and despite periods of funding uncertainty, has resulted in the program’s 50 years of continuity, as well as substantive and ongoing improvements to payload and mission performance. Open free access to Landsat data, enacted in 2008, significantly increased usage and led to a proliferation of science and application opportunities. In this communication, we focus on key developments over the past 50 years of the Landsat program that have influenced and changed our scientific understanding of the Earth system. Significant scientific and programmatic impacts have been realized in the areas of agricultural crop mapping and water use, climate change drivers and impacts, ecosystems and land cover monitoring, and mapping the changing human footprint. The introduction of Landsat collection processing, coupled with the open and free data policy, facilitated a transition in Landsat data usage from single images to time series analyses over large areas and has fostered the widespread use of science grade data. The launch of Landsat-9 on September 27, 2021, and the advanced planning of a successor mission –Landsat-Next– underscore the sustained institutional support for the program. Such support and commitment to continuity is recognition of both the historic impact the program, and the future potential to build upon Landsat’s remarkable 50-year legacy.