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Remote Sensing Time Series pp 25–41Cite as

Time Series Analyses in a New Era of Optical Satellite Data

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Part of the book series: Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing ((RDIP,volume 22))

Abstract

Dense time series of optical remote sensing data have long been the domain of broad-scale sensors with daily near-global coverage, such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) or the Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) VEGETATION. More recently, satellite data suitable for fine-scale analyses are becoming attractive for time series approaches. The major reasons for this development are the opening of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat archive along with a standardized geometric pre-processing including terrain correction. Based on such standardized products, tools for automated atmospheric correction and cloud/cloud shadow masking advanced the capabilities to handle cloud-contamination effectively. Finally, advances in information technology for mass data processing today allow analysing thousands of satellite images with comparatively little effort. Based on these major advancements, time series analyses have become feasible for solving questions across different research domains, while the focus here is on land systems. While early studies focused on better characterising forested ecosystems, now more complex ecosystem regimes, such as shrubland or agricultural system dynamics, come into focus. Despite the evolution of a wealth of novel time series-based applications, coherent analysis schemes and good practice guidelines are scarce. This chapter accordingly strives to structure the different approaches with a focus on potential applications or user needs. We end with an outlook on forthcoming sensor constellations that will greatly advance our opportunities concerning time series analyses.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly acknowledge support by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) in the frame of the Sense Carbon project (Project no. 50EE1254). We are also grateful to contributions by the EU-FP7-funded research project I-REDD+ (Grant Agreement No 265286). This chapter is part of research framed by the USGS-NASA Landsat Science Team 2012–2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Patrick Hostert, Patrick Griffiths, Sebastian van der Linden & Dirk Pflugmacher

  2. IRI THESys, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Patrick Hostert & Sebastian van der Linden

Authors
  1. Patrick Hostert
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  2. Patrick Griffiths
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  3. Sebastian van der Linden
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  4. Dirk Pflugmacher
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick Hostert .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. German Remote Sensing Data Center, DFD, German Aerospace Center, DLR, Wessling, Germany

    Claudia Kuenzer

  2. German Remote Sensing Data Center, DFD, German Aerospace Center, DLR, Wessling, Germany

    Stefan Dech

  3. Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Wolfgang Wagner

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Hostert, P., Griffiths, P., van der Linden, S., Pflugmacher, D. (2015). Time Series Analyses in a New Era of Optical Satellite Data. In: Kuenzer, C., Dech, S., Wagner, W. (eds) Remote Sensing Time Series. Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15967-6_2

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