LSDS-1417

Version 1.0

Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Earth Resources Observation and Science

(EROS) Center
Science Processing Architecture (ESPA)
On-Demand Interface
User Guide

Release 2.34.0

Version 1.0

September 2019
 Earth Resources Observation and
Science (EROS) Center
Science Processing Architecture (ESPA)
On-Demand Interface
User Guide

Release 2.34.0
September 2019

Approved By:
Digitally signed by KAREN
KAREN ZANTER ZANTER
Date: 2019.09.12 14:36:59 -05'00'
______________________________
Karen Zanter Date
LSDS CCB Chair
U.S. Geological Survey

EROS
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

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Executive Summary
This user guide presents a high-level description on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Science Processing
Architecture (ESPA), which provides on-demand processing and customization services
for the remotely sensed science products.

This document is under Land Satellites Data System (LSDS) Configuration Control
Board (CCB) control. Please submit changes to this document, as well as supportive
material justifying the proposed changes, via Change Request (CR) to the Process and
Change Management Tool.

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Document History
Document Document Publication Change
Number Version Date Number
LSDS-1417 Version 1.0 September 2019 CR 15035

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Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... iii
Document History ........................................................................................................ iv
Contents ......................................................................................................................... v
List of Figures .............................................................................................................. vi
List of Tables ................................................................................................................ vi
Section 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background ....................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Purpose and Scope .......................................................................................... 2
1.3 Document Organization .................................................................................... 2
Section 2 Available Products................................................................................... 3
2.1 Landsat ............................................................................................................. 3
2.1.1 Input Products............................................................................................ 3
2.1.2 Input Product Metadata.............................................................................. 4
2.1.3 Surface Reflectance .................................................................................. 4
2.1.4 Top of Atmosphere (TOA) Reflectance ...................................................... 4
2.1.5 Top of Atmosphere Brightness Temperature ............................................. 5
2.1.6 Pixel Quality Assessment .......................................................................... 6
2.1.7 Water-Leaving Reflectance........................................................................ 6
2.1.8 Dynamic Surface Water Extent .................................................................. 6
2.1.9 Spectral Indices ......................................................................................... 7
2.2 MODIS .............................................................................................................. 7
2.2.1 Input Products............................................................................................ 8
2.2.2 MODIS Daily NDVI .................................................................................... 8
2.3 VIIRS ................................................................................................................ 8
2.3.1 Input Products............................................................................................ 8
2.3.2 VIIRS Daily NDVI ....................................................................................... 8
Section 3 User Interface ........................................................................................... 9
3.1 Submitting Order ............................................................................................... 9
3.1.1 Login Credentials ....................................................................................... 9
3.1.2 Scene List .................................................................................................. 9
3.1.3 Supported Processing Options by Product .............................................. 11
3.1.4 Source Products ...................................................................................... 11
3.1.5 Landsat Level 2 and Level 3 products ..................................................... 12
3.1.6 Spectral Indices ....................................................................................... 12
3.1.7 MODIS/VIIRS Spectral Indices ................................................................ 13
3.1.8 Customization Options ............................................................................. 13
3.1.9 Intercomparison & Statistics .................................................................... 16
3.1.10 Order Description ..................................................................................... 16
3.2 Order Tracking ................................................................................................ 16
3.2.1 Cancel Order ........................................................................................... 18
3.2.2 Status Message ....................................................................................... 19
3.3 Download ........................................................................................................ 20

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 3.3.1 File Archive Format .................................................................................. 20
3.3.2 Distribution Methods ................................................................................ 22
3.3.3 ESPA Bulk Download Client .................................................................... 22
Section 4 Application Programming Interface ..................................................... 23
4.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 23
4.2 Documentation ................................................................................................ 23
Section 5 User Services ......................................................................................... 24
Appendix A Landsat HDF File Characteristics ..................................................... 25
Appendix B Landsat Binary File Characteristics ................................................. 27
Appendix C MODIS HDF File Characteristics ....................................................... 28
Appendix D MODIS Binary File Characteristics ................................................... 29
Appendix E MODIS GeoTIFF File Characteristics ................................................ 30
Appendix F VIIRS GeoTIFF File Characteristics .................................................. 32
Appendix G VIIRS Binary File Characteristics ...................................................... 33
Appendix H VIIRS HDF File Characteristics ......................................................... 34
Appendix I Acronyms ............................................................................................ 35
Appendix J Document Change History ................................................................ 38
References ................................................................................................................... 40

List of Figures
Figure 3-1. ESPA On-Demand Order Page .................................................................. 10
Figure 3-2. ESPA On-Demand Customization Services................................................ 14
Figure 3-3. Examples of ESPA On-Demand Projection Parameter Entry ..................... 15
Figure 3-4. ESPA On-Demand ‘Show Orders’ Page ..................................................... 17
Figure 3-5. ESPA On-Demand Distribution Page .......................................................... 18
Figure 3-6. Cancel Order............................................................................................... 18
Figure 3-7. Order Cancellation Verification ................................................................... 19

List of Tables
Table 3-1. Available ESPA On-Demand Processing Options........................................ 11
Table 3-2. Possible Input Parameters for Product Reprojection in ESPA ..................... 15
Table 3-3. ESPA Order Status Messages / Meanings................................................... 20

Table A-1. Landsat HDF File Characteristics ................................................................ 26

Table B-1. Landsat Binary File Characteristics ............................................................. 27
Table C-1. MODIS HDF File Characteristics ................................................................. 28
Table D-1. MODIS Binary File Characteristics .............................................................. 29
Table E-1. MODIS GeoTIFF File Characteristics .......................................................... 31
Table F-1. VIIRS GeoTIFF File Characteristics ............................................................. 32
Table G-1. VIIRS Binary File Characteristics ................................................................ 33
Table H-1. VIIRS HDF File Characteristics ................................................................... 34

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Section 1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Landsat data have been produced, archived, and distributed by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) since 1972. Scientists and users rely upon these Landsat data as well
as data obtained by other Earth Observation (EO) missions for historical study of the
Earth’s surface change but have shouldered the burden of postproduction processing to
create application-ready datasets. In compliance with guidelines established through the
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), USGS has initiated an effort to produce
remote-sensing science products to support land surface change studies.

The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center Science
Processing Architecture (ESPA) is a remote-sensing science product incubation
environment that provides users with an on-demand interface (https://espa.cr.usgs.gov/)
to process and customize science products. These products are provided to build a
framework for producing long-term remote-sensing datasets suited for monitoring,
characterizing and understanding the Earth’s surface change over time. The
framework’s implementation includes basic processing services for Level 1 data and
science data products to provide application-ready datasets to the user community.
Currently, ESPA offers science products from Landsat, Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).
The support for the Sentinel-2, Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS), and
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) will be added in
the future.

The customization services that ESPA offers include:

• Reprojection*
• Spatial subsetting
• Pixel resizing*
• Multiple output formats

*These options do not apply to the Landsat panchromatic band (Band 8 of Landsat 7
Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager
(OLI)).

ESPA is composed of the following key elements:

• Bulk Ordering
• Bulk Ordering Application Programming Interface (API)*
• Land Product Characterization System (LPCS)**

*The API feature is available for all registered users. The API enables users to write
clients to interact with all Bulk Ordering capabilities. More information about the API can
be found in Section 4.

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**LPCS is a collaboration between the USGS and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), and provides a way to perform statistical comparisons between
datasets acquired from multiple sensors. It supports MODIS, VIIRS, and Landsat
surface reflectance and vegetation index products, but further development will expand
the offerings. See Section 3.1.9 for more details.

1.2 Purpose and Scope

This user guide focuses on the Bulk Ordering component, which is the primary
mechanism for access to USGS science products.

1.3 Document Organization

This document contains the following sections:

• Section 1 provides an introduction

• Section 2 describes the available products
• Section 3 provides an explanation of the user interface
• Section 4 provides an explanation of application programming interface
• Appendix A provides Landsat Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) file characteristics
• Appendix B provides Landsat binary file characteristics
• Appendix C provides MODIS HDF file characteristics
• Appendix D provides MODIS binary file characteristics
• Appendix E provides MODIS Georeferenced Tagged Image File Format
(GeoTIFF) file characteristics
• Appendix F provides VIIRS GeoTIFF file characteristics
• Appendix G provides VIIRS binary file characteristics
• Appendix H provides VIIRS HDF file characteristics
• Appendix I provides list of acronyms
• Appendix J provides the document change history
• The References section contains a list of reference materials

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Section 2 Available Products
This section provides detailed information about the available Landsat, MODIS, and
VIIRS products on ESPA.

Note: Due to processing system limitations ESPA does not allow ordering Landsat
Level 1 data or MODIS/VIIRS original input data without any customization. In order to
retrieve the data in their native format users are advised to use other web services such
as USGS EarthExplorer (EE) or NASA Earthdata search.

2.1 Landsat
Except for some periods of unavailability, all Collection 1 Landsat 4 and 5 Thematic
Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 8
Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Level 1 scenes can
be submitted for science product production and delivery. Terrestrial variables, such as
Surface Reflectance (SR) and Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE), and aquatic
variables, such as Water-Leaving Reflectance , are offered as Landsat Science
Products. Derivations of spectral indices from surface reflectance are also offered to
further ease user application in land remote-sensing science. Additional information
about available Landsat product options are provided in Sections 2.1.1 through 2.1.9.

2.1.1 Input Products

Selection of this option will deliver the Landsat Level 1 scenes.

Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Input Products output will contain:

• Level 1 data files (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11)
• Level 1 Quality Assessment (QA) Band (BQA) file. More information about BQA
Band can be found at https://www.usgs.gov/land-resources/nli/landsat/landsat-
collection-1-level-1-quality-assessment-band
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)
• Metadata text file (MTL.txt)

Landsat 7 ETM+ original Input Products output will contain:

• Level 1 data files (Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 low gain, 6 high gain, 7, and 8)
• Level 1 Quality Assessment band (BQA)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)
• Extensible Markup Language (XML) metadata

Landsat 4 and 5 TM original Input Products output will contain:

• Level 1 data files (Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)
• Level 1 Quality Assessment band (BQA)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)
• XML metadata

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Filenames utilize the product identifier (productID), for example
“LC08_L1TP_220071_20170207_20170216_01_T1” for Landsat 8,
“LE07_L1TP_039037_20080728_20160918_01_T1” for Landsat 7, and
“LT05_L1TP_029030_20100805_20160831_01_T1” for Landsat 5.

2.1.2 Input Product Metadata

The Landsat Level 1 metadata (MTL.txt) and angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt) will
be distributed when this option is requested.

2.1.3 Surface Reflectance

This option delivers the Surface Reflectance product. Detailed description of the
Landsat Surface Reflectance product is provided in the Landsat 4-7 Surface
Reflectance (LEDAPS) Product Guide, and the Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance Code
(LaSRC) Product Guide, but the general contents are listed below.

Landsat Surface Reflectance output from Landsat 8 contains:

• Surface Reflectance data files (Bands 1–7)
• Radiometric Saturation QA band (radsat_qa)
• Surface Reflectance Aerosol QA band
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)
• Surface Reflectance metadata file (.xml)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)

Landsat Surface Reflectance output from Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 5 TM, and Landsat
4 TM will contain:
• Surface Reflectance data files (Bands 1-5, 7)
• Surface Reflectance quality files (sr_cloud_qa, sr_atmos_opacity)
• Radiometric Saturation Quality Assessment band (radsat_qa)
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)
• Surface Reflectance metadata file (.xml)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)

Filenames utilize the productID followed by “_sr_,” as exemplified by

“LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_*”.

2.1.4 Top of Atmosphere (TOA) Reflectance

For users interested in TOA Reflectance calculated from the Level 1 scenes, the “Top of
Atmosphere Reflectance” option may be selected. Further details about the product are
provided in the Landsat 4-7 Surface Reflectance (LEDAPS) Product Guide, and the
Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance Code (LaSRC) Product Guide.

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Top of Atmosphere Reflectance output from Landsat 8 contains:
• LC8 data: TOA Reflectance data files (Bands 1–7, 9)
• LO8 data: TOA Reflectance data files (Bands 1–7, 9)
• TOA Reflectance header files
• Radiometric Saturation Quality Assessment file (radsat_qa)
• Level 1 metadata files (MTL.txt)
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)
• Per-pixel solar zenith, solar azimuth, sensor zenith and sensor azimuth bands
(Band 4 only)
• TOA Reflectance metadata file (.xml)

Landsat Top of Atmosphere Reflectance output from Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 5 TM,
and Landsat 4 TM will contain:

• TOA Reflectance data files (Bands 1-5, 7)

• Radiometric Saturation Quality Assessment band (radsat_qa)
• Per-pixel solar zenith, solar azimuth, sensor zenith, and sensor azimuth bands
(Band 4 only)
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)
• TOA Reflectance metadata file (.xml)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)

Filenames utilize the productID followed by “_toa_”, as exemplified by

“LT05_L1TP_029030_20100805_20160831_01_T1_toa_*”.

2.1.5 Top of Atmosphere Brightness Temperature

This option delivers the TOA Brightness Temperature (BT) for thermal bands (Band 6 of
Landsat 4-5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+ and Bands 10 and 11 of Landsat 8 TIRS), which
are converted to Kelvin.

TOA Brightness Temperature output from Landsat 8 contains:

• TOA Brightness Temperature data files (Bands 10–11)

• Radiometric Saturation Quality Assessment file (radsat_qa)
• Level 1 metadata files (MTL.txt)
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)
• TOA Brightness Temperature metadata file (.xml)

TOA Brightness Temperature output from Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 5 TM, and Landsat
4 TM will contain:

• TOA Brightness Temperature data file (Band 6)

• Radiometric Saturation Quality Assessment band (radsat_qa)
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)

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 • TOA Brightness Temperature metadata file (.xml)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)

Filenames utilize the productID followed by “_bt_”, as exemplified by

“LC08_L1TP_171061_20140702_20160101_01_T1_bt_*”.

Note: For Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor only low-gain thermal band (Band 6-1) is processed
to TOA Brightness Temperature.

2.1.6 Pixel Quality Assessment

The Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment (QA) is created using information from the Level
1 QA band, specifically Cloud Confidence, Cloud Shadow, and Snow/Ice flags derived
from the CFMask algorithm. Additional information about the Landsat Pixel QA band are
provided in the Landsat 4-7 Surface Reflectance (LEDAPS) Product Guide, and the
Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance Code (LaSRC) Product Guides.

Filenames utilize the productID followed by “_pixel_qa_”, as exemplified by

“LC08_L1TP_125030_20150414_20170410_01_T1_pixel_qa_*”.

2.1.7 Water-Leaving Reflectance

Water-Leaving Reflectance is an aquatic science product that is currently available only
for Landsat 8. Water-Leaving Reflectance for Landsat 8 will contain:
• Remote Sensing Reflectance (Bands 1-7)
• Chlorophyll-a concentration (chlor_a)
• Quality flags (l2_flags)
• Water-Leaving Reflectance metadata file (.xml)
• Level 2 Pixel Quality Assessment band (pixel_qa)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)

Filenames utilize the productID followed by “_rrs_”, as exemplified by

“LC08_L1TP_014034_20160812_20170222_01_T1_rrs_*”.

2.1.8 Dynamic Surface Water Extent

This option delivers Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE). Additional information
about this product are provided in Landsat Dynamic Surface Water Extent Product
Guide, but the general contents are listed below:

• Diagnostic layer
• Interpreted layer
• Interpreted layer with mask applied
• Mask
• Hillshade
• Percent Slope

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 • Dynamic Surface Water Extent metadata file (.xml)
• Level 1 metadata file (MTL.txt)
• Angle band coefficients file (ANG.txt)

Filenames utilize the productID followed by “_dswe_”, as exemplified by

“LC08_L1TP_125030_20150414_20170410_01_T1_dswe_*”.

2.1.9 Spectral Indices

Surface Reflectance is used to derive several spectral indices products, as listed below.
Their characteristics are described in Landsat Spectral Indices Product Guide.

• Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

• Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
• Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI)
• Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI)
• Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI)
• Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR)
• Normalized Burn Ratio 2 (NBR2)

2.2 MODIS
The following MODIS Collection 6 datasets can be submitted for science product
production and delivery.

MOD09 (Terra), MYD09 (Aqua) surface reflectance:

• MOD/MYD09A1
• MOD/MYD09GA
• MOD/MYD09GQ
• MOD/MYD09Q1

MOD/MYD11 Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST/E):

• MOD/MYD11A1

MOD/MYD13 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced

Vegetation Index (EVI):

• MOD/MYD13Q1
• MOD/MYD13A1
• MOD/MYD13A2
• MOD/MYD13A3

The derivation of the daily Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the
MOD09GA and MYD09GA surface reflectance is also available on ESPA.

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Unlike Landsat-based products, the processing options for MODIS granules is limited to
the Input Products and Daily NDVI. Available MODIS products are provided in Sections
2.2.1 and 2.2.2.

2.2.1 Input Products

Selection of this option will deliver the input MODIS surface reflectance (MOD/MYD09),
surface temperature and emissivity (MOD/MYD11), or vegetation index (MOD/MYD13)
products.

Filenames utilize the MODIS granule identifier, for example

“MOD09GA.A2001335.h08v06.006.2015146050343_*” for surface reflectance,
“MYD11A1.A2006282.h22v16.006.2015299134539_*” for surface temperature and
emissivity, and “MYD13A1.A2012265.h17v08.006.2015249154919_*” for vegetation
index products.

2.2.2 MODIS Daily NDVI

MODIS daily Surface Reflectance is used to derive daily Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index (NDVI) product.

Filenames utilize the MODIS granule identifier followed by “_sr_ndvi_,” as exemplified

by “MOD09GA.A2001335.h08v06.006.2015146050343_sr_ndvi_*”.

2.3 VIIRS
The Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) VIIRS daily surface reflectance
(VNP09GA) Collection 1 product is available for product customization and delivery.
The derivation of the daily NDVI from the VNP09GA surface reflectance is also
available. Available VIIRS products are provided in Section 2.3.1 and 2.3.2.

2.3.1 Input Products

Selection of this option will deliver the input MODIS surface reflectance (MOD/MYD09),
surface temperature and emissivity (MOD/MYD11), or vegetation index (MOD/MYD13)
products.

Filenames utilize the VIIRS granule identifier, for example

“VNP09GA.A2014187.h10v04.001.2017031030559_*”.

2.3.2 VIIRS Daily NDVI

Selection of this option will deliver VIIRS daily NDVI, which is derived from daily VIIRS
Surface Reflectance data.

Filenames utilize the VIIRS granule identifier, for example

“VNP09GA.A2014187.h10v04.001.2017031030559_sr_ndvi_*”.

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Section 3 User Interface
The ESPA interface is the primary mechanism used to request on-demand processing
and services for the available products.

3.1 Submitting Order

To submit an order for science data production, users interact with the “New Order”
page on the bulk ordering interface: https://espa.cr.usgs.gov/. The page consists of
three sections: Notices (when applicable), scene list upload, and product options, as
shown in Figure 3-1.

3.1.1 Login Credentials

A USGS Registered Username and password is required to access the bulk ordering
interface. This is the same credentials used to access EarthExplorer
(https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov). To register, visit https://ers.cr.usgs.gov/register/.

3.1.2 Scene List

The first step in submitting an order for science data production is to create a scene list.
The scene list is a text file (*.txt), listing one Landsat scene, MODIS granule, or VIIRS
granule identifier on each line. Scenes and granules from different sensors can be
ordered separately or concurrently. The list can be easily generated by performing a
spatial and temporal inventory search through EarthExplorer and exporting search
results to a spreadsheet from which filenames can be extracted.

ESPA currently does accept single orders with more than 5,000 scenes, but more
scenes can be submitted separately when system resources are available. Generally,
smaller orders can be delivered faster. An example of a scene list is below:

espa_request.txt

MYD13Q1.A2002185.h19v05.006.2015149070403
MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718
LE07_L1TP_039037_20080728_20170314_01_T1
LC08_L1TP_039037_20160726_20180201_01_T1
MYD11A1.A2017069.h16v02.006.2017073045736
VNP09GA.A2014073.h19v10.001.2017018110619

Note: Due to processing system limitations, a user cannot have more than 10,000 open
units.

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Figure 3-1. ESPA On-Demand Order Page

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3.1.3 Supported Processing Options by Product
Table 3-1 provides the list of available products and options in ESPA.

Product Landsat TM, ETM+, Select MODIS S-NPP VIIRS

OLI/TIRS 09, 11 & 13 (Collection 1)
(Collection 1) (Collection 6)
Input Product X X X
Input Product X
Metadata
Level 2 and Level 3 X
Products
Spectral Indices X X(3) X(3)
Customize Outputs X(1) X X
Intercomparison & X(2) X X
Statistics
TM Thematic Mapper, ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, OLI Operational Land Imager, TIRS Thermal
Infrared Sensor, MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging
Radiometer Suite
(1) Reprojection and pixel resizing options do not apply to the Panchromatic Band (Band 8 Landsat 7
ETM+ & Band 8 Landsat 8 OLI only.)
(2) Intercomparison & Statistics apply to all data products except the Landsat Level 1 data products.
(3) The only spectral indices available from MODIS and VIIRS is daily NDVI.

Table 3-1. Available ESPA On-Demand Processing Options

3.1.3.1 Real Time Landsat Data Products

Before newly acquired Landsat 8 and Landsat 7 Collection 1 Level 1 scenes are
assigned a tier designation, they are placed into the Real Time (RT) tier until finalized
bumper mode and geometric correction parameters (Landsat 7 only – 26 days) or
finalized TIRS line-of-sight models (Landsat 8 only – 14 days) have been applied to the
data.

Users can order RT scenes; however, if an RT scene is replaced by final Tier 1 (T1) or
Tier 2 (T2) data before ESPA begins processing the order containing the RT scene,
processing will fail, and the user will need to reorder the T1/T2 scene.

3.1.4 Source Products

In the “Source Products” section:

• The Input Products are the original Level 1 Landsat scenes, or MODIS
MOD/MYD09, MOD/MYD11, MOD/MYD13, or VIIRS VNP09 granules
accompanied by metadata downloaded directly from the USGS or Land
Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC). Landsat Level 1
product characteristics are described on https://www.usgs.gov/land-
resources/nli/landsat/landsat-level-1-processing-details. MODIS characteristics
are described on
https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/dataset_discovery/modis/modis_products_table.

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 Similarly, the characteristics of the VIIRS surface reflectance are described on
https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/vnp09gav001/.
• Input Metadata is included when source products are requested, but is selectable
as a separate option to serve users who want that information to go along with
one of the science data products without having to download an entire Landsat
Level 1 package.
o Original Input Metadata is not available for MODIS or VIIRS products.

3.1.5 Landsat Level 2 and Level 3 products

As explained in Section 2.1, currently, Surface Reflectance (SR), Top of Atmosphere
(TOA) reflectance, TOA Brightness Temperature (BT), Water-Leaving Reflectance,
Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE), their associated metadata, and Quality
Assessment (QA) are available on ESPA.

Offerings of Surface Temperature (ST), Sentinel-2 Surface Reflectance, and

Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) will be added to the product selections when
each reaches provisional status. Information will be added to
https://www.usgs.gov/land-resources/nli/landsat/landsat-science-products when these
data become available.

The following product can also be requested:

• Top of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance (multispectral bands data and quality

assessment)
• Top of Atmosphere Brightness Temperature (BT) (thermal band(s) data* and
quality assessment)
• Pixel QA**
• Input Metadata and Quality Assessment Band***

*Landsat 8 TIRS-only (“LT08”) cannot be processed to TOA Brightness Temperature.

**pixel_qa is an alternative quality assessment algorithm that contains cloud, cloud

confidence, cloud shadow, snow/ice, and water. This assessment is generated by the
CFMask algorithm and is generally more accurate than its companion LEDAPS bands
for cloud, cloud shadow, snow, and water identification.

***Both delivered by default with Collection 1 data, can be ordered separately in the
ESPA On-Demand Interface (ODI).

3.1.6 Spectral Indices

The “Spectral Indices” section lists several band ratios that are derived from the Landsat
surface reflectance product:

• Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

• Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
• Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI)

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 • Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI)
• Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI)
• Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR)
• Normalized Burn Ratio 2 (NBR2)

The characteristics of each are described in the Spectral Indices Product Guide.

3.1.7 MODIS/VIIRS Spectral Indices

The “Daily MODIS NDVI” option calculates the NDVI for the MOD09GA/MYD09GA
surface reflectance input data. Similarly, the “Daily VIIRS NDVI” option calculates the
NDVI for the VNP09GA surface reflectance inputs.

3.1.8 Customization Options

Customized Products uses original Input Products and applies any selections from the
“Customization Options” section. Clicking any of the boxes along the left side of the
“Customization Options” section will expand the options for output format, reprojection,
spatial subsetting, and resampling (Figure 3-2). Customized products must be checked
for output format, projection, resizing and extent.

Including data from multiple sensors in an order will result in equivalent customization
options. “Customize Input Products” must be checked for product customization to be
applied to MODIS scenes. For example, if Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI) is
selected as an output format, both products will be produced as ENVI binaries. Another
example, if the pixel resizing it set to 100 meters, both datasets will be sampled to 100
meters.

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 Figure 3-2. ESPA On-Demand Customization Services

3.1.8.1 Output Format

Customized Input Products, Level 2 and Level 3 science products, and/or Spectral
Indices can be output in the following formats: GeoTIFF (“.tif”), ENVI binary (“.img”),
NetCDF (“.nc”) or Hierarchical Data Format – Earth Observing System version 2 (HDF-
EOS2; “.hdf”). The ESPA default file format is GeoTIFF. Users should be aware of the
software capabilities.

3.1.8.2 Reproject Products

Available products can be reprojected from the native Universal Transverse Mercator
(UTM) or Polar Stereographic (Landsat Level 1 defaults), or from Sinusoidal
(MODIS/VIIRS default) to a different UTM zone, Geographic, Albers Equal Area, Polar
Stereographic, or Sinusoidal. The underlying software performing the reprojections is
the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL; http://www.gdal.org/.)

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The Albers Equal Area selection requires user definition of projection parameters and
offers choices for datum. Sinusoidal and Polar Stereographic reprojections likewise
allow entry of parameters. UTM accepts only a zone parameter and North/South
hemisphere specification. Geographic system projects the coordinates into decimal
degrees. A full list of parameters is provided in Table 3-2. A graphical example of
reprojection is shown in Figure 3-3.

Projection

Albers Equal Area UTM Geographic Sinusoidal Polar Stereographic

Decimal
Units Meters Meters Meters Meters
Degrees
Latitude of
-90.0 to 90.0
Origin
Latitude True
-180.0 to 180.0
Scale
Longitudinal -90.0 to -60.0 (South),
Pole 60.0 to 90.0 (North)
Input Parameters

Central -180.0 to
-180.0 to 180.0
Meridian 180.0
1st Standard
-90.0 to 90.0
Parallel
2nd Standard
-90.0 to 90.0
Parallel

False Easting Any float Any float Any float

False Northing Any float Any float Any float

WGS84, NAD27,
Datum
NAD83
1-60 North, 1-
Zone
60 South
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator, WGS84 World Geodetic System 1984, NAD27 North American Datum 1927,
NAD83 North American Datum 1983

Table 3-2. Possible Input Parameters for Product Reprojection in ESPA

Figure 3-3. Examples of ESPA On-Demand Projection Parameter Entry

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3.1.8.3 Modify Image Extents
If the user requires modification of image extents, the output projection must be
specified, and entries for the corner points must be in the proper units (decimal degrees
for Geographic; meters for Albers Equal Area, Polar Stereographic, Sinusoidal, and
UTM).
Note: Due to processing system limitations, image extents cannot be greater than 200
million pixels per image.

3.1.8.4 Pixel Resizing and Resampling

The last two customization options are for pixel resizing and resampling. Users can up-
or down-sample the available products between 30 and 5,000-meters (m). Pixel size
must be in decimal degrees if a Geographic projection is used.
Note: Due to processing system limitations, resized pixels cannot yield more than 200
million pixels per image.

Resampling methods include nearest neighbor, bilinear interpolation, and cubic

convolution. As Quality Assessment (QA) bands use discrete, integer-level data, these
bands are always resampled with nearest neighbor.

3.1.9 Intercomparison & Statistics

Statistics can be generated between geographically intersecting Landsat TM, ETM+,
OLI/TIRS, select MODIS and VIIRS datasets through ESPA by selecting “Plot Output
Product Statistics” from the “Intercomparison & Statistics” heading. The statistics
include plots, text files and CSV files of minimum, maximum, mean, and standard
deviation of the image extents. A list of overlapping scene IDs can be generated from
the Land Product Characterization System (LPCS) Explorer, which uses the same
credentials as EarthExplorer and ESPA. Further information pertaining to statistics
generation and output files are in the LPCS User Guide.

3.1.10 Order Description

Users may enter an order description if they wish, to help identify the contents of the
order for themselves. The “Submit” button at the bottom of the page will send the
request to production.

As soon as the order is received, an email acknowledgment is delivered to the user.

The email contains a link to tracking information for the order.

3.2 Order Tracking

Product requests are delivered to a hypertext transfer protocol over transport layer
security (HTTPS) site. Email notification of location is sent to the user when all files in
the order have completed processing. Users can also use the “Show Orders” feature in
the ESPA On-Demand Interface to monitor the status of production and go directly to
the download site as files complete.

Clicking on “Show Orders” will present an entry field requesting the email address
associated with the order. The email address will be the same as what is on file in the

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user’s EarthExplorer account. After entering the address and clicking “Submit,” a listing
is shown of all orders for that address (Figure 3-4).

The orders are assigned names, such that the email address, date of submission, and a
unique identifier can be used to differentiate requests. For example:
“[email protected]” is an order placed by [email protected] on
December 17, 2014.

The general status of each order is noted next to the order name, and whatever
comments the user entered regarding the order are also displayed. Statistics are
provided for each order, indicating the total number of products ordered, and the
number of orders currently available for download.

Figure 3-4. ESPA On-Demand ‘Show Orders’ Page

The order names listed are linked to the distribution site. File-based details can be
found there, and users can download any of the files in the order that have reached a
complete state. An email notice is sent to the user only when all files are complete.

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 Figure 3-5. ESPA On-Demand Distribution Page

3.2.1 Cancel Order

Orders containing scenes submitted for processing can be cancelled by the user. Figure
3-6 shows the cancellation option which is located on the individual orders’ status page.
Once confirmed, all scenes that have not completed processing will be cancelled and
any previously processed scenes from that order will be deleted from disk. Order
cancellation is not available for orders that have completed processing.

Note: Once order cancellation is confirmed, the action cannot be undone and the order
must be resubmitted if desired.

Figure 3-6. Cancel Order

To confirm that an order has been successfully cancelled, check that the status of your
order displays “cancelled” (Figure 3-7). You can also verify that the individual scenes
within a cancelled order are cancelled by checking the scene status and notes.

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 Figure 3-7. Order Cancellation Verification

3.2.2 Status Message

Each product within an order contains a status, indicating its activity within ESPA.
Table 3-3 describes each status message and its meaning.

Status Interpretation
Submitted ESPA has received the order request, but
has not yet determined source product
availability.
On Cache ESPA has found the source product(s)
are available for processing.
On Order The source product(s) are not
immediately available, so ESPA has
placed an order to the source and is
awaiting the source product(s).
Queued ESPA will attempt to process your orders
once they reach the front of the queue.
Processing ESPA is now processing your order.
Error ESPA has received an order that could
not be processed as requested. Errors
will always be described in detail in the
“Note” column of the order status. Some
possible errors:

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 Status Interpretation
• Solar zenith angle is too high (>76
degrees) to accurately retrieve
surface reflectance
• Auxiliary data are not yet available
for the date requested
Retry An order that could not previously be
completed is set to be run again. For
products missing auxiliary data for SR
retrieval, ESPA retries every 24 hours.
Complete The order has completed successfully,
and is ready for download.
Unavailable ESPA determined the order could not be
completed successfully, so it will not be
retried.
Cancelled Processing for this scene/order has been
cancelled.

Table 3-3. ESPA Order Status Messages / Meanings

3.3 Download
As files complete processing, they can be downloaded along with their checksums any
time directly from the site linked to the user’s email address. Notification of delivery is
not emailed back to the user until all the files in the order are complete.

3.3.1 File Archive Format

The download site contains compressed file archives (.tar.gz), inside of which will be the
requested files.

For Collection 1 Landsat data, the archives are formatted as follows:

LXSSPPPRRRYYYYMMDDCCTX-SCyyyymmddhhmmss.tar.gz

where:

L Landsat
X Sensor (“T” = TM; “E” = ETM+; “O” = OLI; “T” = TIRS; “C” = OLI/TIRS)
SS Satellite (“04” = Landsat 4; “05” = Landsat 5; “07“ = Landsat 7; 08” =
Landsat 8)
PPP Path
RRR Row
YYYY Year of acquisition
MM Acquisition month
DD Acquisition day
CC Landsat Collection number (“01” for Collection 1)
TX Tier (“01” for Tier 1; “02” for Tier 2; “RT” for Real Time)

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 SC Science dataset
yyyy Year of ESPA processing
mm Month of ESPA processing
dd Day of ESPA processing
hh Hour of ESPA processing
ss Seconds of ESPA processing.

For MODIS data (applies to all sensors, collections, data products), the archives are
formatted as follows:

MXDNNPPhHHvVVYYYYDDDCCC-SCyyyymmddhhmmss.tar.gz

where:

MXD Satellite (“MOD” = Terra; “MYD” = Aqua)

NN Product number (“09”, “11”, “13”)
PP Product designator (“A1”, “A2”, “A3”, “GA”, “GQ”, or “Q1”)
hHH Horizontal tile index
vVV Vertical tile index
YYYY Year of acquisition
DDD Acquisition day of year
CCC MODIS Collection number (“006” for Collection 6)
SC Science dataset
yyyy Year of ESPA processing
mm Month of ESPA processing
dd Day of ESPA processing
hh Hour of ESPA processing
ss Seconds of ESPA processing.

For VIIRS data the archives are formatted as follows:

VNPNNPPhHHvVVYYYYDDDCCC-SCyyyymmddhhmmss.tar.gz

where:

VNP Satellite (“VNP” = VIIRS/NPP)

NN Product number (“09”)
PP Product designator (“GA”)
HHH Horizontal tile index
VVV Vertical tile index
YYYY Year of acquisition
DDD Acquisition day of year
CCC VIIRS Collection number (“001” for Collection 1)
SC Science dataset
yyyy Year of ESPA processing
mm Month of ESPA processing

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 dd Day of ESPA processing
hh Hour of ESPA processing
ss Seconds of ESPA processing.

Additional information, such as the date ordered, date completed, and requested
processing options are listed within the order download page (Figure 3-5).

3.3.2 Distribution Methods

Distribution is currently via direct download from an HTTPS site, which generally
requires each file be downloaded individually. Bulk downloads are possible, as noted
below.

3.3.3 ESPA Bulk Download Client

A Python-based Bulk Download client is available for downloading either a single ESPA
order, or the entire order queue. At least Python 2.7 or greater is required to run the
client.

The tool is available from https://github.com/USGS-EROS/espa-bulk-downloader.

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Section 4 Application Programming Interface
4.1 Overview
The ESPA Application Programming Interface (API) is the underlying architecture on
which the On-Demand Interface operates. The API’s basic functionality allows end
users to use a machine-to-machine interface to query order options, place orders, check
order status and acquiring download URLs.

The API is implemented as a Representational State Transfer (REST) service using

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) and Java Script Object Notation (JSON) and
therefore is compatible with most programming languages.

4.2 Documentation
The official ESPA API documentation is at https://github.com/USGS-EROS/espa-api.

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Section 5 User Services
Landsat Science Products and associated interfaces are supported by User Services
staff at USGS EROS. Any questions, comments, or interface problems can be directed
to USGS EROS Customer Services:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1-605-594-6151
Phone (toll-free): 1-800-252-4547

User support is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central
Time. Inquiries received outside of these hours will be addressed during the next
business day.

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Appendix A Landsat HDF File Characteristics
NOTE: A Landsat 5 TM product ID is used only as an example. Landsat 4 TM, Landsat
7 ETM+, and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS files have similar characteristics.

NOTE: An “.img” file is included for each Science Data Set (SDS) within an HDF file
because each band is stored as an external SDS.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name Science Data Sets
(bytes)
Grid
• SDS1 band1
• SDS2 band2
• SDS3 band3
• SDS4 band4
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Source data file 16,239 • SDS5 band5
_01_T1.hdf
• SDS6 band61
• SDS7 band62
• SDS8 band7
Grid_15
• SDS1 band8
Source Binary LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
56,428,541 NA
file (9) _01_T1_B*_hdf.img
Source LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
6,307 NA
Metadata _01_MTL.txt
Angle LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
6,000 NA
Coefficients File _01_ANG.txt
Ground Control LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
10,000 NA
Points File _01_GCP.txt
• SDS1 toa_band1
• SDS2 toa_band2
• SDS3 toa_band3
TOA
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004 • SDS4 toa_band4
Reflectance 25,522
_01_T1_toa.hdf • SDS5 toa_band5
data file
• SDS6 toa_band7
• SDS7 radsat_qa
• SDS8 pixel_qa
TOA
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Reflectance 112,857,082 NA
_01_T1_toa_band*_hdf.img
Binary file (7)
TOA
Reflectance LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
56,428,541 NA
Quality Binary _01_T1_radsat_qa_hdf.img
file
TOA
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Reflectance 522 NA
_01_T1_toa.hdf.hdr
header file
• SDS1 sr_band1
• SDS2 sr_band2
• SDS3 sr_band3
Surface
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004 • SDS4 sr_band4
Reflectance 33,812
_01_T1_sr.hdf • SDS5 sr_band5
data file
• SDS6 sr_band7
• SDS7 sr_atmos_opacity
• SDS8 sr_cloud_qa

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 Example
Description File Size Example File Name Science Data Sets
(bytes)
• SDS14 radsat_qa
• SDS15 pixel_qa
Surface
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Reflectance 112,857,082 NA
_01_T1_sr_band*_hdf.img
Binary file (6)
Surface
Reflectance LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
56,428,541 NA
Quality Binary _01_T1_sr_cloud_qa_hdf.img
file
Surface
Reflectance
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Atmospheric 112,857,082 NA
_01_T1_sr_atmos_opacity_hdf.img
Opacity Binary
file
Surface
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Reflectance 56,428,541 NA
_01_T1_pixel_qa.hdf.img
Pixel QA file
Surface
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Reflectance 612 NA
_01_T1_sr.hdf.hdr
header file
LT05_L1TP_018034_19850904_20161004
Metadata 13,365 NA
_01_T1.xml
TM Thematic Mapper, ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, OLI Operational Land Imager, TIRS Thermal
Infrared Sensor, HDF Hierarchical Data Format, SDS Science Data Set, IMG ENVI Binary Image Format, NA Not
Applicable, TOA Top of Atmosphere, SR Surface Reflectance, QA Quality Assessment, XML Extensible Markup
Language, HDR Header file format, CFmask C version Function of Mask

Table A-1. Landsat HDF File Characteristics

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Appendix B Landsat Binary File Characteristics
NOTE: A Landsat 4 TM product ID is used only as an example. Landsat 5 TM, Landsat
7 ETM+, and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS files have similar characteristics.

Example File
Description Example File Name
Size (bytes)

Source Band data file (9) 59,638,671 LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_B*.img

Source Band header file (9) 348 LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_B*.hdr

LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_toa_ba
TOA Reflectance data file (7) 119,277,342
nd*.img

LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_toa_ba
TOA Reflectance header file (7) 348
nd*.hdr

LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_radsat
TOA Reflectance Quality file (1) 59,638,671
_qa.img

TOA Reflectance Quality header LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_radsat

333
file (1) _qa.hdr

LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_ban
Surface Reflectance data file (6) 119,277,342
d*.img

LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_ban
Surface Reflectance header file (6) 352
d*.hdr

LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_clo
Surface Reflectance Quality file 59,638,671
ud_qa.img

Surface Reflectance Quality LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_clo

332
header file (7) ud_qa.hdr

Surface Reflectance Atmospheric LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_atm

119,277,342
Opacity file (1) os_opacity.img

Surface Reflectance Atmospheric LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_sr_atm

339
Opacity header file (1) os_opacity.hdr

Surface Reflectance Pixel QA file LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_pixel-

59,638,671
(1) qa.img

Surface Reflectance Pixel QA LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1_pixel_q

336
header file (1) a.hdr

Metadata 32,139 LT04_L1TP_023028_19821212_20161004_01_T1.xml

TM Thematic Mapper, ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, OLI Operational Land Imager, TIRS Thermal
Infrared Sensor, HDF Hierarchical Data Format, SDS Science Data Set, IMG ENVI Binary Image Format, NA Not
Applicable, TOA Top of Atmosphere, SR Surface Reflectance, QA Quality Assessment, XML Extensible Markup
Language, HDR Header file format, BT Top of Atmosphere Brightness Temperature, CFmask C version Function of
Mask

Table B-1. Landsat Binary File Characteristics

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Appendix C MODIS HDF File Characteristics
NOTE: A MODIS MYD13 sceneID is used only as an example. MOD13 and
MOD/MYD09 files (Collections 5 and 6) have similar characteristics, though include
different output files for each product type.

NOTE: An “.img” file is included for each Science Data Set within an HDF file because
each band is stored as an external SDS.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name Science Data Sets
(bytes)
Grid
• SDS1 250m 16 days NDVI
• SDS2 250m 16 days EVI
• SDS3 250m 16 days VI Quality
• SDS4 250m 16 days red reflectance
• SDS5 250m 16 days NIR reflectance
• SDS6 250m 16 days blue reflectance
Source data file 28 *.hdf
• SDS7 250m 16 days MIR reflectance
• SDS8 250m 16 days view zenith angle
• SDS9 250m 16 days sun zenith angle
• SDS10 250m 16 days relative azimuth angle
• SDS11 250m 16 days composite day of the
year
• SDS12 250m 16 days pixel reliability
Source Binary
9,748 *hdf.img NA
file (12)
Metadata 13 *.xml NA
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, HDF Hierarchical Data Format, SDS Science Data Set,
NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, EVI Enhanced Vegetation Index, VI Vegetation Index, NIR Near
Infrared, MIR Middle Infrared, m meter, IMG ENVI Binary Image Format, NA Not Applicable, TOA Top of
Atmosphere, QA Quality Assessment, XML Extensible Markup Language, HDR Header file format

Table C-1. MODIS HDF File Characteristics

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Appendix D MODIS Binary File Characteristics
NOTE: A MOD09 granule ID is used only as an example. MYD09 and MOD/MYD13
files have similar characteristics, though include different output files for each product
type.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name
(Kbytes)

Source Band data file (21) 2,813-11,250 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718.*.img

Source Band header file (21) 1 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718.*.hdr

Daily NDVI data file 11,250 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sr_ndvi.img

Daily NDVI header file 1 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sr_ndvi.hdr

Metadata 20 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718.xml
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MOD09 MODIS Terra Surface Reflectance Product,
MOD/MYD13 MODIS Terra/Aqua Vegetation Index Product, IMG ENVI Binary Image Format, NA Not Applicable, XML
Extensible Markup Language, HDR Header file format

Table D-1. MODIS Binary File Characteristics

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Appendix E MODIS GeoTIFF File Characteristics
NOTE: A MOD09 granule ID is used as an example. MYD09 and MOD/MYD13 files
have similar characteristics, though include different output files for each product type.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name
(Kbytes)
Geolocation Flags 1,409 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_gflags_1.tif.tif
Granule Pointer 1,409 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_granule_pnt_1.tif
Observation
Number in Coarser 5,633 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_iobs_res_1.tif
Grid

Number of MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_num_observations_1km.ti
1,409
Observations (1km) f
Number of
MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_num_observations_500m
Observations 5,632
.tif
(500m)
Observation
5,632 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_obscov_500m_1.tif
Coverage (500m)
Orbit Pointer 1,409 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_orbit_pnt_1.tif
Reflectance Band
22,520 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_QC_500m_1.tif
Quality (500m)
Range (Pixel to
2,817 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_Range_1.tif
Sensor)
Sensor Azimuth 2,817 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_SensorAzimuth_1.tif
Sensor Zenith 2,817 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_SensorZenith_1.tif
Solar Azimuth 2,817 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_SolarAzimuth_1.tif
Solar Zenith 2,817 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_SolarZenith_1.tif
Daily NDVI 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sr_ndvi.tif
Reflectance Data
2,817 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_state_1km_1.tif
State QA (1km)
Surface
Reflectance Band 1 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b01_1.tif
(500m)
Surface
Reflectance Band 2 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b02_1.tif
(500m)
Surface
Reflectance Band 3 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b03_1.tif
(500m)
Surface
Reflectance Band 4 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b04_1.tif
(500m)
Surface
Reflectance Band 5 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b05_1.tif
(500m)
Surface
Reflectance Band 6 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b06_1.tif
(500m)

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 Example
Description File Size Example File Name
(Kbytes)
Surface
Reflectance Band 7 11,270 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718_sur_refl_b07_1.tif
(500m)
Metadata 21 MOD09GA.A2001024.h20v17.006.2015140115718.xml
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MOD09 MODIS Terra Surface Reflectance Product,
MOD/MYD13 MODIS Terra/Aqua Vegetation Index Product, tif GeoTIFF File Format, km kilometer, m meter, QC
Quality Control, num number, refl reflectance, sur surface, obscov observation coverage algorithm, iobs
observation number, gflags geolocation flags, IMG ENVI Binary Image Format, NA Not Applicable, XML Extensible
Markup Language, HDR Header file format

Table E-1. MODIS GeoTIFF File Characteristics

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Appendix F VIIRS GeoTIFF File Characteristics
A VNP09 granule is shown as an example.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name
(Kbytes)
Metadata 6 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358.xml
Surface Reflectance 11,270 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_SurfReflect_I1_1.tif
Band 1 (Red)
Surface Reflectance 11,270 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_SurfReflect_I2_1.tif
Band 2 (NIR)
Surface Reflectance 11,270 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_SurfReflect_I3_1.tif
Band 3 (SWIR)
Daily NDVI 11,270 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_sr_ndvi.tif

Table F-1. VIIRS GeoTIFF File Characteristics

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Appendix G VIIRS Binary File Characteristics
A VNP09 granule is shown as an example.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name
(Kbytes)
Metadata 6 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358.xml
Source Band data 11,250 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_SurfReflect_*.img
file (3)
Source Band header 1 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_SurfReflect_*.hdr
file (3)
Daily NDVI data file 11,250 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_sr_ndvi.img
Daily NDVI header 1 VNP09GA.A2018305.h17v05.001.2018307065358_sr_ndvi.hdr
file

Table G-1. VIIRS Binary File Characteristics

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Appendix H VIIRS HDF File Characteristics
A VNP09 granule is shown as an example.

Example
Description File Size Example File Name Science Data Sets
(Kbytes)
• SDS1 Surface Reflectance Band 1 (Red)
• SDS2 Surface Reflectance Band 2 (NIR)
Source data file 14 *.hdf
• SDS3 Surface Reflectance Band 3 (SWIR)
• SDS4 NDVI derived from I1 and I2
Source Binary
11,250 *hdf.img NA
file (3)
Daily NDVI 11,250 *.hdf.hdr NA
Source
6 *.xml NA
Metadata

Table H-1. VIIRS HDF File Characteristics

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Appendix I Acronyms
09A1 MODIS Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 500m
09GA MODIS/VIIRS Surface Reflectance Daily L2G Global 1 km and 500m
09GQ MODIS Surface Reflectance Daily L2G Global 250m
09Q1 MODIS Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 250m
13A1 MODIS Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 500m
13A2 MODIS Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 1km
13A3 MODIS Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 1km
13Q1 MODIS Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 250m
API Application Programming Interface
BQA Quality Assessment Band
BT Brightness Temperature
C1 Collection 1
CCB Configuration Control Board
CFMask C version of Fmask
CR Change Request
CSV Comma Separated Values
DSWE Dynamic Surface Water Extent
EE EarthExplorer
ENVI Environment for Visualizing Images
EO Earth Observation
EROS Earth Resources Observation and Science
ESPA EROS Science Processing Architecture
ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
EVI Enhanced Vegetation Index
Fmask Function of Mask
GCOS Global Climate Observing System
GDAL Geospatial Data Abstraction Library
GEOS-R Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series
GeoTIFF Georeferenced Tagged Image File Format
HDF-EOS2 Hierarchical Data Format for Earth Observation Systems (version 2)
HDR Header File
HLS Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2
HTTPS Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
JSON Java Script Object Notation
km Kilometer
L1 Level 1
L2 Level 2
L3 Level 3
LaSRC Landsat Surface Reflectance Code

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LEDAPS Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System
LP DAAC Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
LPCS Land Product Characterization System
LSDS Land Satellites Data System
LST/E Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity
m Meter
MIR Middle Infrared
MOD09 MODIS Surface Reflectance – Terra Satellite
MOD11 MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity – Terra Satellite
MOD13 MODIS Vegetation Indices – Terra Satellite
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MSAVI Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
MTL Metadata Text File Extension
MYD09 MODIS Surface Reflectance – Aqua Satellite
MYD11 MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity – Aqua Satellite
MYD13 MODIS Vegetation Indices – Aqua Satellite
NA Not Applicable
NAD27 North American Datum 1927
NAD83 North American Datum 1983
NBR Normalized Burn Ratio
NBR2 Normalized Burn Ratio 2
NC NetCDF File Format
NDMI Normalized Difference Moisture Index
NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
NIR Near Infrared
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ODI On-Demand Interface
OLI Operational Land Imager
QC Quality Control
QA Quality Assessment
RADSAT Radiometric Saturation
REST Representational State Transfer
RT Real Time
S-NPP Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership
SAVI Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index
SDS Science Data Set
SR Surface Reflectance
SWIR Shortwave Infrared
T1 Tier 1
T2 Tier 2
TIRS Thermal Infrared Sensor

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TM Thematic Mapper
TOA Top of Atmosphere
URL Uniform Resource Locator
USGS U.S. Geological Survey
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
VI Vegetation Index
VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite
WGS84 World Geodetic System 1984
XML Extensible Markup Language

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Appendix J Document Change History
Document Version Publication Date Change Description
1.0 11/11/2013 Initial Draft

1.1 12/01/2013 Revised after Peer Review

Updated with DownThemAll network preference
1.2 01/06/2013
instruction
1.3 06/04/2014 Corrected link to SI Product Guide

1.4 06/26/2014 Modified system login details

Added new output format and projection option
2.0 07/29/2014
descriptions
2.1 08/04/2014 Added file format characteristics and appendices.
Added MODIS MOD/MYD09 & MOD/MYD13 input
2.2 08/27/2014 options, output files; GeoTIFF output files added;
‘fmask’ changed to ‘cfmask’ in file output.
Split processing options into more subsections,
Land Product Characterization System (LPCS)
2.3 10/10/2014 integration, statistics generation, ability to
download only metadata, users must “Define
Projection” before modifying image extent.
Expanded descriptions of reprojection parameters,
2.4 10/22/2014 updated on-demand order page figure to include
statistics generation.
Updated “Customization Options” section to show
that QA bands are always resampled with Nearest
2.5 12/23/2014 Neighbor. Addition of Landsat 8 products. Updated
figures and text to reflect ESPA website updates.
Added LPCS processing addition to ESPA.
Added ESPA Bulk Download client information to
2.6 03/25/2015
“Download” section.
2.7 9/22/2015 Corrected URLS in document
Changed number of days in Section 2.3; adjusted
2.8 10/19/2015 server limits in download plugin documentation
and graphic

2.9 12/01/2015 Minor formatting and typo corrections.

Added caveat for maximum pixel count per grid.

3.0 12/16/2015 Updated tables to indicate cloud mask (CFmask)
ordering option for Landsat products.
Added caveat for Intercomparison & Statistics
3.1 03/01/2016 generation – currently not supported for Landsat
Level 1 products.
3.2 05/10/2016 Updated link for ESPA bulk download client.
Added description of order status messages.
3.3 07/01/2016 Updated links to L8 Surface Reflectance Code
(LaSRC) Product Guide.
Added API information, NetCDF output &
3.4 10/07/2016
corresponding graphics.

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Document Version Publication Date Change Description
3.5 12/07/2016 Updated links to Landsat Missions Website
Added TM/ETM+ Collection 1 information and
examples. Updated incorrect graphic of ordering
interface. Added note about per-order maximum
3.6 01/13/2017
pixel limit (200 million). Added Table caption to
ESPA order status table. Noted that only C5
MODIS products are currently available.
3.7 01/18/2017 Addition of MODIS C6 products.
Added OLI/TIRS Collection 1 information and
examples. Added caveat stating that TIRS-only
3.8 03/15/2017
(LT8 or LT08) data cannot be run to Brightness
Temperature.
Addition of MODIS LST/E (MO/YD11A1) to
description, appendix, etc. Addition of .tar.gz
archive name examples for pre-collection Landsat,
3.9 03/31/3017
Collection 1 Landsat, and MODIS (Section 2.3.)
Removed “Provisional” stats from all instances of
LaSRC (C1 only.)
Removal of Landsat pre-collection data. Added
explanation of Real Time (RT) data, and how it
may not be available if it is removed from L1
4.0 04/06/2017 archive and processed to Tier 1 or 2. Moved TOA,
BT and CFMask to separate section (they are not
CDRs.) Added link to ECV webpage. Updated
figures with most recent ESPA interface.
Removed CFMask product option information and
4.1 06/26/2017 replaced with pixel_qa product option information.
Added order cancellation information.
Replaced the terms high-level and higher-level
4.2 10/05/2017 with science data products. Corrected various
typos.
Added “top of atmosphere” before “brightness
4.3 12/04/2017 temperature” to clarify that BT products are not
atmospherically corrected.
Removed reference to CDR/ ECV, update
4.4 03/13/2018 graphics. Removed DownThemAll references
(Section 2.32, Figure 2.8)
Added of MODIS /VIIRS NDVI processing
4.5 07/25/2019
capability.
Version 1.0 LSDS-1417 08/01/2019 Added Water-Leaving Reflectance information

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References

Please see https://www.usgs.gov/land-resources/nli/landsat/glossary-and-acronyms for

a list of acronyms.

USGS/EROS. LSDS-1330. Landsat Surface Temperature (ST) Product Guide,

https://www.usgs.gov/media/files/landsat-provisional-surface-temperature-product-
guide.

USGS/EROS. LSDS-1368. Landsat 8 Surface Reflectance Code (LaSRC) Product

Guide, https://www.usgs.gov/media/files/landsat-8-surface-reflectance-code-lasrc-
product-guide.

USGS/EROS. LSDS-1370. Landsat 4-7 Surface Reflectance (LEDAPS) Product Guide,

https://www.usgs.gov/media/files/landsat-4-7-surface-reflectance-code-ledaps-product-
guide

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