Step 1.

Image Preparation:
The purpose of this section is to briefly instruct users who are given a
Landsat scene how to prepare the scene for analysis and calculate
common products such as dNBR.
When you first receive your Landsat (or other data source) image, it
generally is delivered as an image of raw digital number (DN) values.
You can't apply any spectral index to this raw data (whether dNBR or
any other measure).
The reason you can not do this is simple. DNBR and other so-called
"spectral indices" were developed to work with measures of how
reflective the specific unburned and burned surfaces are. The DN
values do not provide the correct information. Therefore we have to
prepare the data for analysis by converting the DN values into these
reflective values. This process is called DN to Reflectance to
conversion and has the following steps:
1. Reading the Data
2. DN to Radiance
3. Radiance to Reflectance (as measured by the satellite sensor in
space)
4. Satellite Reflectance to Reflectance as if the satellite sensor was
positioned just above the ground
1. Reading the Data
One of the most confusing aspect of Landsat images is that there is
more than one format that the data can be delivered to the users as.
Some of the different types include: GeoTiff, Fast format, hdf, and
NLAPS. There is also more than one Landsat sensor , which means that
you must be careful how you convert data, as one set of rules for one
image may be different for images derived from "a different Landsat
satellite".
If you are using advanced remote sensing software packages such as
ENVI or Erdas many of these data formats can be directly read in and
are converted on-the-fly by these programs into both radiance and
reflectance as measured by the satellite sensor in space. However, you
will encounter many times when this can not be done. Therefore, we
will cover these main steps in this tutorial such that you can
understand how the data is produced.

Step 2. Calculating Radiance

The purpose of this section is to briefly instruct users who are given a
Landsat scene how to convert the raw DN values into radiance.
As outlined in the online Landsat 7 User's Guide there is a standard
procedure to convert Landsat DN values into radiance values. In
summary, you must first convert the raw DN values into the amount of
energy that the sensor received, which is called the radiance. To do
this we make use of a simple formula:
L = "gain" * (DN) + "offset"
In this formula, L is the radiance of the pixel and is calculated by
multiplying the gain of the sensor's band by the DN value. To cut a
long-story short, this gain is calculated to account for the fact that
there are different Landsat satellites and different Landsat formats.
To convert your image into radiance you need some information from
the vendor. Namely you need to find out whether each band was "high
or low gain". This information can commonly be found in the header
file. The header file typically has a file type like *.MTL. It is often very
small (~10K) and can be read by most txt editors. Here is a snippet
from LE7042028000219850.MTL to show you what to look for:
GROUP = PRODUCT_PARAMETERS
BAND1_GAIN = "H"
BAND2_GAIN = "H"
BAND3_GAIN = "H"
BAND4_GAIN = "L"
BAND5_GAIN = "H"
BAND6_GAIN1 = "L"
BAND6_GAIN2 = "H"
BAND7_GAIN = "H"
BAND8_GAIN = "L"

If you then look at Chapter 11 of the online Landsat 7 User's Guide

you use this information within an "expanded" version of the above

equation to calculate the radiance of each band. You can use most
equation editors in GIS or image processing packages to convert each
band.

Step 3. Calculating Reflectance

The purpose of this section is to briefly instruct users who are given a
Landsat scene how to convert the radiance values into reflectance..
As outlined in the online Landsat 7 User's Guide Chapter 11 there
is a standard procedure to convert Landsat radiance values into
reflectance (at satellite) values. To do this we make use of a simple
formula:
Rsesnor = (pi*L*d2)/(ESUNi*COS(z))
Where, pi =3.14159, Rsensor is the reflectance at the sensor, L is the
spectral radiance at the sensors aperture; ESUNi is the mean solar
exoatmospheric irradiance of each band, i; z is the solar zenith angle
(zenith angle = 90 solar elevation angle), which is within the header
file; and d is the earth-sun distance, in astronomical units, which is
calculated using the follow EXCEL equation (Eva and Lambin, 1998):
d = (1-0.01672*COS(RADIANS(0.9856*(Julian Day-4))))
EVA, H., AND LAMBIN, E.F., 1998, Burnt area mapping in Central Africa
using ATSR data, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 19, 18,
3473-3497
In this formula, ESUN is the maximum amount of energy that a given
sensor band (i) can physically measure if it was pointed at the sun. As
such, in the first equation we effectively have a ratio between the
amount of energy reaching the sensor in a given band, L by the total
amount of energy that could be measured in that band (when
considering energy emitted by the sun as a light source). This is
reflectance. The other terms simply account for the fact that only a
fraction of the light leaving the sun will actually be able to reach the
sensor.

You can use most equation editors in GIS or image processing

packages to convert each band.

Conversion to Radiance
During 1G product rendering image pixels are converted to units of
absolute radiance using 32 bit floating point calculations. Pixel values
are then scaled to byte values prior to media output. The following
equation is used to convert DN's in a 1G product back to radiance
units:
L = Grescale * QCAL + Brescale
which is also expressed as:
L = ((LMAX - LMIN)/(QCALMAX-QCALMIN)) * (QCAL-QCALMIN)
+ LMIN
where
:

L = Spectral Radiance at the sensor's aperture in

watts/(meter squared * ster * m)

Grescale = Rescaled gain (the data product "gain"
contained in the Level 1 product header or
ancillary data record) in watts/(meter
squared * ster * m)/DN
Brescale = Rescaled bias (the data product "offset"
contained in the Level 1 product header or
ancillary data record ) in watts/(meter

squared * ster * m)
QCAL = the quantized calibrated pixel value in DN
LMIN = the spectral radiance that is scaled to
QCALMIN in watts/(meter squared * ster *

m)
LMAX = the spectral radiance that is scaled to
QCALMAX in watts/(meter squared * ster *

m)
QCALMIN
= the minimum quantized calibrated pixel
value (corresponding to LMIN) in DN
= 1 for LPGS products
= 1 for NLAPS products processed after
4/4/2004
= 0 for NLAPS products processed before

4/5/2004
QCALMA = the maximum quantized calibrated pixel
X value (corresponding to LMAX) in DN
= 255
The LMINs and LMAXs are the spectral radiances for each band at
digital numbers 0 or 1 and 255 (i.e QCALMIN, QCALMAX), respectively.
LPGS used 1 for QCALMIN while NLAPS used 0 for QCALMIN for data
products processed before April 5, 2004. NLAPS from that date now
uses 1 for the QCALMIN value. Other product differences exist as well.
One LMIN/LMAX set exists for each gain state. These values will change
slowly over time as the ETM+ detectors lose responsivity. Table 11.2
lists two sets of LMINs and LMAXs. The first set should be used for both
LPGS and NLAPS 1G products created before July 1, 2000 and the
second set for 1G products created after July 1, 2000. Please note the
distinction between acquisition and processing dates. Use of the
appropriate LMINs and LMAXs will ensure accurate conversion to
radiance units. Note for band 6: A bias was found in the pre-launch
calibration by a team of independent investigators post launch. This
was corrected for in the LPGS processing system beginning Dec 20,
2000. For data processed before this, the image radiances given by
the above transform are 0.31 w/m2 ster um too high. See the official
announcement for more details. Note for the Multispectral
Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM), and Advanced Land
Imager (ALI) sensors: the required radiometry constants are
tabulated in this PDF file.

Table 11.2 ETM+ Spectral Radiance Range

watts/(meter squared * ster * m)
Processed Before July 1, Proccessed After July 1,
2000
2000
Band
Low Gain
Numbe
r
LMIN LMAX

High Gain

Low Gain

High Gain

LMIN LMAX LMIN LMAX

LMIN

LMAX

-6.2

297.5

-6.2

194.3

-6.2

293.7

-6.2

191.6

-6.0

303.4

-6.0

202.4

-6.4

300.9

-6.4

196.5

-4.5

235.5

-4.5

158.6

-5.0

234.4

-5.0

152.9

-4.5

235.0

-4.5

157.5

-5.1

241.1

-5.1

157.4

-1.0

47.70

-1.0

31.76

-1.0

47.57

-1.0

31.06

0.0

17.04

3.2

12.65

0.0

17.04

3.2

12.65

7
8

-0.35 16.60 -0.35

-5.0

244.0
0

-5.0

10.93
-0.35 16.54 -0.35 10.80
2
158.4
0

-4.7

243.1

-4.7

158.3

11.3.2 Radiance to Reflectance

For relatively clear Landsat scenes, a reduction in between-scene
variability can be achieved through a normalization for solar irradiance
by converting spectral radiance, as calculated above, to planetary
reflectance or albedo. This combined surface and atmospheric
reflectance of the Earth is computed with the following formula:

Where:
= Unitless planetary reflectance
= Spectral radiance at the sensor's aperture
= Earth-Sun distance in astronomical units from
an Excel file
or interpolated from values listed in Table 11.4
= Mean solar exoatmospheric irradiances from
Table 11.3
= Solar zenith angle in degrees

Table 11.3

ETM+ Solar Spectral

Irradiances

(generated using the Thuillier solar

spectrum)
Band

watts/(meter squared * m)

1997

1812

1533

1039

230.8

84.90

1362.

Table 11.4 Earth-Sun Distance in Astronomical Units

Day
Day
Day
Day
Day
Distanc
Distanc
Distanc
Distanc
Distanc
of
of
of
of
of
e
e
e
e
e
Year
Year
Year
Year
Year
1

.98331

74

.99446

152

1.0140
3

227

1.0128
1

305

.99253

15

.98365

91

.99926

166

1.0157
7

242

1.0096
9

319

.98916

32

.98536

106

1.0035
3

182

1.0166
7

258

1.0056
6

335

.98608

46

.98774

121

1.0075
6

196

1.0164
6

274

1.0011
9

349

.98426

60

.99084

135

1.0108
7

213

1.0149
7

288

.99718

365

.98333

11.3.3 Band 6 Conversion to Temperature

ETM+ Band 6 imagery can also be converted from spectral radiance
(as described above) to a more physically useful variable. This is the
effective at-satellite temperatures of the viewed Earth-atmosphere
system under an assumption of unity emmissivity and using pre-launch
calibration constants listed in Table 11.5. The conversion formula is:

Where

:
T
K2
K1
L

Table 11.5

= Effective at-satellite temperature in

Kelvin
= Calibration constant 2 from Table 11.5
= Calibration constant 1 from Table 11.5
= Spectral radiance in watts/(meter
squared * ster * m)

ETM+ and TM Thermal Band Calibration

Constants
Constant 1- K1
Constant 2 - K2
watts/(meter squared * ster * m)
Kelvin

Landsat 7

666.09

1282.71

Landsat 5

607.76

1260.56