Satellite data access: Landsat-8

The access possibilities for Landsat-8 data are described on:

http://landsat.usgs.gov/Landsat_Search_and_Download.php

The main access is via the following 3 pages:

http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ http://glovis.usgs.gov/ http://landsatlook.usgs.gov/viewer.html

The content and possibilities to access Landsat-8 data is similar for the 3 pages. The main differences are in the layout and the search structure. The EarthExplorer start page:

The GLOVIS start page:

The LandsatLook Viewer start page:

Satellite data access: Landsat-8

In the following we will focus on GLOVIS, however, the general procedure is similar in EarthExplorer and LandsatLook Viewer.

First, you need to define the Landsat mission you are interested in the menu item “Collection” (in this case Landsat-8 OLI):

To define the spatial borders of your data search, you can either use the mouse to define a target area in the map (1), specify path/row of the required satellite image (2), specify latitude/ longitude of your target area (3) or navigate stepwise with the arrows to your selected area (4):

Satellite data access: Landsat-8

You can further specify the maximum cloud cover for your image as well as a specific date (1). Afterwards, a click on the Go-button starts the data search (2). The resulting image as well as the adjoining images are displayed as Quicklook in the main window (3) and image specific information (e.g. cloud cover and image quality) is shown as well (4):

For a larger Quicklook, change the resolution to 240 m.

Satellite data access: Landsat-8

It also possible to overlay the satellite image with a variety of additional map layers (e.g. boundaries):

You can also search for images acquired earlier/later (1). For each image you want to download, click the Add-button to add the selected image to your cart (2). If you finished your selection, press the Send to Cart-button (3).

Satellite data access: Landsat-8

A new page now opens and you need to login (registration needed). After the login, you will reach the download page:

Now you can either download the images individually by clicking on the download symbol (1) or download all images by choosing the bulk download (2):

Satellite data access: Landsat-8

For the single download, you will enter a page to select the data you want to download (e.g. just the quicklook or the full resolution geotiff):

For the bulk download you can also specify which data you want to download. Continue by clicking the Proceed To Checkout-button.

Satellite data access: Landsat-8

On the next page, press the Submit Order-button:

Afterwards you will get an information mail how to continue the download process. You first need to download and install the Bulk Download Application (BDA), which then allows you to download even large amounts of satellite images: