SBC LTER: Time series of quarterly NetCDF files of kelp biomass in the canopy from Landsat 5, 7 and 8, since 1984 (ongoing)

This data file represents a time series of canopy biomass of the
giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera , derived from
Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper
Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite
imagery, along with relevant metadata. The kelp canopy is composed
of the portions of fronds floating on the surface of the water.
Biomass data (wet weight, kg) are given for individual 30 x 30 meter
pixels in the coastal areas extending from near Año Nuevo to San
Diego, CA, including the Northern and Southern Channel Islands. Data were derived from the three Landsat sensors listed above.
Observations are made on a 16 day repeat cycle, for each instrument,
but the temporal coverage is irregular because of cloud cover,
instrument failure, and the mission length of each sensor (TM: 1984
– 2011, ETM+: 1999 – present, OLI: 2013 – present). Estimates of
kelp canopy biomass are derived from the relationship between
satellite surface reflectance and empirical measurements of kelp
canopy biomass in long-term SBC LTER study plots obtained using
SCUBA. The different Landsat sensors were calibrated to each other
using simulated Landsat data derived from hyperspectral imagery.
Missing data due to the ETM+ scan line corrector error were filled
using a synchrony-based gap filling method. Data are organized into a single NetCDF file and contain the
quarterly means for each Landsat pixel across the three sensors.
Relevant metadata such as number of Landsat estimates from which the
mean was derived, the number of estimates from each sensor, standard
error for each quarterly estimate, spatial coordinates, and date are
all included in the file. For assistance with the data, please
contact [e-mail].