Landsat Advisory Group Update December 11, 2013

1. Landsat Advisory Group UpdateDecember 11, 2013 Co-Chairs Kass Green and Roger Mitchell

2. LAG Membership

3. 2013 NGAC Guidance Landsat The NGAC Landsat Advisory Group (LAG) will provide advice to the Federal Government, through the NGAC, on the requirements, objectives and actions of the Landsat Program as they apply to ongoing delivery of societal benefits for the Nation and the global Earth observation community. The LAG is requested to provide advice and recommendations on Landsat-related issues for consideration by the NGAC, including the following: • Through collaboration with the Landsat Science Team, potential new applications of Landsat imagery and data to benefit land and water managers, governmental planners and land use officials, and any others. • Current and future Landsat data and information product characteristics, including potential means of modifying the current products to make them more useful to commercial value-added information providers. • Potential new approaches to data management and distribution (e.g., possible means to “bring algorithms to the data”, rather than to “bring the data to algorithms”; and use of “the cloud” and other new technology developments). • A dialogue with industry on future development of new terrestrial Climate Data Records (CDRs) • Review and comment on the National Research Council report on implementing a sustained Land Imaging Program. • Recommendations on partnership opportunities with existing foreign or commercial missions to maintain and augment DOI/USGS land imaging capability.* *FGDC Guidance to NGAC, March 2013

4. Landsat Study Questions • Product Improvement: Review current and future Landsat data and information product specifications, and advise USGS on potential means of modifying the current products to make them more useful to commercial information providers and value-added analysts. Team Lead: Peter Becker Status: Final consensus document submitted for NGAC acceptance • Cloud: Recommend potential new approaches to data management and distribution (e.g., possible means to “bring algorithms to the data”, rather than to “bring the data to algorithms”; and use of “the cloud” and other new technology developments). Team Lead: Darrel Williams Status:   Final consensus document submitted for NGAC acceptance  

5. Landsat Study Questions • Industry benefits: Review and document the benefits to Industry of the U.S. Government continuing to build and operate future Landsat systems. Team Lead: Cory Springer Status: Developed initial tables. Reviewing recently released USGS User survey for input . Action:  Target completion by next NGAC meeting • Foreign partnerships: Review and make recommendations regarding partnership opportunities with existing commercial or foreign missions to maintain and augment DOI/USGS land imaging capability. Team Lead: John Copple Status: Difficult for non-USG entity to communicate with foreign governments. Action : Request USGS redefine and narrow the question scope.

6. Landsat Study Questions • New Apps: Based on the Landsat 8 improvements, in collaboration with the Landsat Science Team, identify potential new applications of Landsat imagery and data. Team Lead: Tony Spicci Status: Draft within a couple of weeks. • NRC Report: Review and comment on the National Research Council report on implementing a sustained Land Imaging Program. Team Lead: Dave Cowen Status: Final consensus document submitted for NGAC acceptance.

7. Summary of Comments on NRC Panel Report • Major LAG Finding: The LAG concurs with the report's findings and recommendations and finds the report to be well reasoned and thorough in scope.

8. Summary of Product Improvement Recommendations • USGS • Must strike a balance between the products created by the USGS and those created by commercial organizations. The USGS should clearly define the level of products it will produce and avoid competition with commercial organizations. • Refine Landsat geometric accuracy to enable better change detection and refinement of the radiometric measurements so that they can be better associated with known quantities • Continue to improve the existing L1G product by refining both the geometric and radiometric accuracy through the use of additional control and terrain models used to geometrically correct the imagery as well as through continual calibration of the instruments against ground truth. • Define a standard surface reflectance product by documenting and publishing a standardized method for the creation of Surface Reflectance products from Landsat and collecting and distributing the parameters (such as elevation, weather, temperature & humidity) required to compute these from the L1T. • Help consolidate scientific research and publish best practices on how to create a range of products including different indices of vegetation and soil types and Climate Variables. • Provide the facilities to certify or validate derived products generated by other organizations. This can be achieved in a similar manner that standards organizations check for compliance. • Make the L1T product simpler to access

9. Summary of Cloud Computing Recommendations • USGS EROS Center should facilitate Landsat cloud implementations by third-party cloud providers. • Facilitate the implementation(by EROS and/or third-parties) of methods that provide fast and simple accessibility to imagery, such as Interactive Online Analysis • Facilitate the implementation (by EROS and/or third-parties)of methods that provide Batch-processing Analysis as there are many scientific tasks that cannot be handled by Interactive Online Analysis alone. • The EROS Center should investigate modification of their existing Data Download to enable subsets of L1T products to be downloaded. • Special attention should be given to the use of open software standards when designing any future system(s) to avoid tying any of these services to proprietary software. • Although security is an important consideration, security solutions need to be streamlined so as not to slow things down appreciably and/or make things more complicated to implement.