Removal of Thin Cirrus Scattering Effects in Landsat 8 OLI Images Using the Cirrus Detecting Channel

Thin cirrus clouds frequently contaminate images acquired with either Landsat 7 ETM+ or the earlier generation of Landsat series satellite instruments. The situation has changed since the launch of the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) into space in 2013. OLI implemented a cirrus detecting channel (Band 9) centered within a strong atmospheric water vapor absorption band near 1.375 μm with a width of 30 nm. The specifications for this channel were the same as those specified for the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in the early 1990s. The OLI Band 9 has been proven to be very effective in detecting and masking thin cirrus-contaminated pixels at the high spatial resolution of 30 m. However, this channel has not yet been routinely used for the correction of thin cirrus effects in other OLI band images. In this article, we describe an empirical technique for the removal of thin cirrus scattering effects in OLI visible near infrared (IR) and shortwave IR (SWIR) spectral regions. We present results from applications of the technique to three OLI data sets. We also discuss issues associated with parallax anomalies in OLI data.