{"id":2556442,"date":"2024-11-15T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T20:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2556442"},"modified":"2025-06-27T11:57:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T18:57:04","slug":"create-cloud-free-imagery-composite-from-landsat-in-living-atlas","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/imagery\/create-cloud-free-imagery-composite-from-landsat-in-living-atlas","title":{"rendered":"ArcGIS Online: creating a cloud-free imagery composite from Landsat imagery"},"author":299162,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23341,22931],"tags":[42641,25041,780072,268131,29991],"industry":[],"product":[36581,36551],"class_list":["post-2556442","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analytics","category-imagery","tag-arcgis-online","tag-landsat","tag-lawrasteranalysis","tag-living-atlas","tag-raster-analysis","product-arcgis-living-atlas","product-arcgis-online"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":299162,"user_firstname":"Ling","user_lastname":"Tang","nickname":"Ling Tang (Redlands)","user_nicename":"ling_tang","display_name":"Ling Tang","user_email":"Ling_Tang@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2022-01-10 21:15:59","user_description":"Dr. Ling Tang has been exploring Remote Sensing and GIS for more than 20 years. She is a Senior Product Engineer for imagery at Esri where she focuses on the development of best practices for visualizing and analyzing scientific big data, machine learning and image classification on ArcGIS platform. Before joining Esri, she was a former research professional at NASA GSFC worked on a couple of precipitation missions.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"ArcGIS Online analysis workflow to generate cloud-free imagery composite using Landsat Level 2 imagery in Living Atlas.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Landsat imagery often faces challenges with cloud cover and shadows obscuring ground details and hindering clear images. In this blog, we will provide a step-by-step workflow using ArcGIS Online raster analysis to create cloud-free imagery from Landsat imagery from the Living Atlas. We will also showcase the enhanced capability of Landsat Level-2 multispectral imagery<\/a> for conducting large-scale analysis in ArcGIS Online. This imagery is accessible through the\u00a0ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World<\/a>.<\/p>\n

License requirement<\/h2>\n

Professional<\/strong> or Professional Plus\u00a0<\/strong>user type license. For more information about ArcGIS Online capabilities included with each user type, please check out More ArcGIS Users Now Have Access to Imagery Hosting and Analysis in ArcGIS Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h2>\n

Transferring a large volume of imagery data during imagery processing is usually time-consuming, especially when the source data is stored far from where the analysis is being processed. To expedite this process, for a selected list of Living Atlas layers<\/a>, users can allow moving the imagery analysis to the region where the Living Atlas data are located. Once the analysis is complete, the output will be transferred back and shared in the user’s organization.<\/p>\n

This approach can significantly improve the performance of analyzing these Living Atlas layers, which allows large volumes of data to be processed efficiently and bypass the request size limit restriction<\/a> on image services. Permission to use this approach can be enabled by the administrator of your ArcGIS Online organization. By default, the feature is turned off, but can be enabled for your organization. When the feature is enabled, the input data will be temporarily co-located in the same region with the Living Atlas data for optimized processing. The analysis input includes the raster function templates and deep learning models.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This feature is currently in Beta with known limitations. To enable this feature, please have your ArcGIS Online organization administrator follow these steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Access Organization<\/strong> Settings.<\/li>\n
  2. Navigate to Security<\/strong> Settings, look for the Raster analysis with Living Atlas data<\/strong>\u00a0option at the bottom.<\/li>\n
  3. Enable the option Allows raster analysis to be performed in the same region co-located with Living Atlas data for better performance. The analysis input could temporarily leave your region, and the output will be temporarily stored outside of your region before being transferred back to your organization.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2866372,"id":2866372,"title":"admin_option","filename":"admin_option.png","filesize":61414,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/imagery\/create-cloud-free-imagery-composite-from-landsat-in-living-atlas\/admin_option","alt":"","author":"299162","description":"","caption":"","name":"admin_option","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2556442,"date":"2025-06-27 18:52:01","modified":"2025-06-27 18:52:01","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1147,"height":564,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":228,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":378,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","large-width":1147,"large-height":564,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","1536x1536-width":1147,"1536x1536-height":564,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","2048x2048-width":1147,"2048x2048-height":564,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option-826x406.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":406,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/admin_option.png","wide_image-width":1147,"wide_image-height":564}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Analysis workflow<\/h2>\n

    Preparing the input layer<\/h3>\n

    Before beginning your analysis, it is important to prepare the input layer to ensure all required bands can be accessed. The default processing template for the Landsat Level-2 layer is “Natural Color with DRA”, which selects a band combination of 4,3,2. You will need to prepare the Landsat imagery layer before conducting your analysis to be sure that all the bands are available for the analysis workflow.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Step 1:<\/strong> Add layer and zoom to interest area:<\/p>\n

    In the Map Viewer<\/strong>, search for “Landsat Level-2” through the Living Atlas and add this layer to the map. Because Landsat layer has the global coverage, this workflow can be used anywhere that have images available within your defined time period. We use Columbia Glacier in Alaska, USA<\/strong> as an example. It has long been an archetype of the world’s most rapidly changing glaciers. In the map, search by location and zoom to your area of interest.<\/p>\n

    Step 2: <\/strong>Configure processing template:<\/p>\n

    Open the Processing templates<\/strong> pane on the Settings<\/strong> (light) toolbar. Select “None” and click Done<\/strong> button to expose all bands for downstream analysis.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2559292,"id":2559292,"title":"2_processing_templates","filename":"2_processing_templates.png","filesize":127134,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/imagery\/create-cloud-free-imagery-composite-from-landsat-in-living-atlas\/2_processing_templates","alt":"","author":"299162","description":"","caption":"","name":"2_processing_templates","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2556442,"date":"2024-11-04 21:22:41","modified":"2024-11-04 21:22:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":590,"height":512,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","medium-width":301,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","medium_large-width":590,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","large-width":590,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","1536x1536-width":590,"1536x1536-height":512,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","2048x2048-width":590,"2048x2048-height":512,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates-536x465.png","card_image-width":536,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2_processing_templates.png","wide_image-width":590,"wide_image-height":512}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Step 3:\u00a0<\/strong>Verify all bands are available:<\/p>\n

    In the Styles<\/strong> pane on the Settings<\/strong> (light) toolbar, choose the RGB<\/strong> style options to ensure all 10 bands are listed in the dropdown menu.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2559332,"id":2559332,"title":"3_all_bands","filename":"3_all_bands.png","filesize":33531,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/imagery\/create-cloud-free-imagery-composite-from-landsat-in-living-atlas\/3_all_bands","alt":"","author":"299162","description":"","caption":"","name":"3_all_bands","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2556442,"date":"2024-11-04 21:26:29","modified":"2024-11-04 21:26:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":591,"height":542,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","medium-width":285,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","medium_large-width":591,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","large-width":591,"large-height":542,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","1536x1536-width":591,"1536x1536-height":542,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","2048x2048-width":591,"2048x2048-height":542,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands-507x465.png","card_image-width":507,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3_all_bands.png","wide_image-width":591,"wide_image-height":542}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

    Step 4: <\/strong>(Optional) Save the configured layer:<\/p>\n

    On the Contents <\/strong>(dark) toolbar, click Layers<\/strong>, access the layer options (3-dots button) to save this configured layer as a new layer item. This will allow you to skip step 2 and 3 in future.<\/p>\n

    Defining an image filter for the analysis<\/h3>\n

    In this workflow, it is crucial to accurately define filters to process only the images relevant to your area of interest and time period. Since the Landsat imagery contains many more images than needed for your analysis, it is important to limit the number of images used in the analysis and focus the analysis on your particular study area. Focusing the analysis on a selection of images will reduce the processing time and the cost of the analysis.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Step 5:<\/strong> There are three methods provided to apply an image filter, and you can choose one of the following options:<\/p>\n

    Option 1. (Recommended<\/strong>) Leveraging the raster function template to define filters:<\/p>\n