Optimal Solar Zenith Angle Definition for Combined Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A/2B Data Angular Normalization Using Machine Learning Methods

Jian Li; Baozhang Chen

Optimal Solar Zenith Angle Definition for Combined Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A/2B Data Angular Normalization Using Machine Learning Methods

2021

Jian Li | Baozhang Chen

Data from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A/2B are often combined for terrestrial monitoring because of their similar spectral bands. The bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) effect has been observed in both Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A/2B reflectance data. However, there is currently no definition of solar zenith angle (θsz) that is suitable for the normalization of the BRDF-adjusted reflectance from the three sensors’ combined data. This paper describes the use of four machine learning (ML) models to predict a global θsz that is suitable for the normalization of bidirectional reflectance from the combined data in 2018. The observed θsz collected globally, and the three locations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (26.622°E, 0.356°N), Texas in the USA (99.406°W 30.751°N), and Finland (25.194°E, 61.653°N), are chosen to compare the performance of the ML models. At a global scale, the ML models of Support Vector Regression (SVR), Multi-Layer Perception (MLP), and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) exhibit comparably good performance to that of polynomial regression, considering center latitude as the input to predict the global θsz. GPR achieves the best overall performance considering the center latitude and acquisition time as inputs, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.390°, a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.689°, and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.994. SVR shows an RMSE of 1.396°, an MAE of 0.638°, and an R2 of 0.994, following GPR. For a specific location, the SVR and GPR models have higher accuracy than the polynomial regression, with GPR exhibiting the best performance, when center latitude and acquisition time are considered as inputs. GPR is recommended for predicting the global θsz using the three sensors’ combined data.

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