What Best Spectral Bands To Use For My Study
Next question is what are the best spectral bands we should use for our study?
Some will argue that the level of detail or spatial resolution is the most important aspect of viewing a satellite image.
However,
it is also useful to understand how changes in irradiative energy reflected by different surface materials are used to identify features of interest.
Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)
[https://landsat.usgs.gov/what-are-best-spectral-bands-use-my-study]
| Band | Wavelength | Useful for Mapping: |
|---|---|---|
| Band 1 – Coastal Aerosol | 0.435 - 0.451 | Coastal and aerosol studies |
| Band 2 – Blue | 0.452 - 0.512 | Bathymetric mapping, distinguishing soil from vegetation, and deciduous from coniferous vegetation |
| Band 3 - Green | 0.533 - 0.590 | Emphasizes peak vegetation, which is useful for assessing plant vigor |
| Band 4 - Red | 0.636 - 0.673 | Discriminates vegetation slopes |
| Band 5 - Near Infrared (NIR) | 0.851 - 0.879 | Emphasizes biomass content and shorelines |
| Band 6 - Short-wave Infrared (SWIR) 1 | 1.566 - 1.651 | Discriminates moisture content of soil and vegetation; penetrates thin clouds |
| Band 7 - Short-wave Infrared (SWIR) 2 | 2.107 - 2.294 | Improved moisture content of soil and vegetation and thin cloud penetration |
| Band 8 - Panchromatic | 0.503 - 0.676 | 15 meter resolution, sharper image definition |
| Band 9 – Cirrus | 1.363 - 1.384 | Improved detection of cirrus cloud contamination |
| Band 10 – TIRS 1 | 10.60 – 11.19 | 100 meter resolution, thermal mapping and estimated soil moisture |
| Band 11 – TIRS 2 | 11.50 - 12.51 | 100 meter resolution, Improved thermal mapping and estimated soil moisture |
Nice tools to use: https://landsat.usgs.gov/spectral-characteristics-viewer
