Generation of cloud-free imagery using Landsat-8

Cloud cover and cloud shadow areas on satellite imagery restrict the practical use of remote sensing data. Thus, cloud screening and filling methods are critical for geospatial users. The recently launched Landsat-8 provides coastal/aerosol and cirrus bands to tackle this problem. In this case, clouds can be accurately detected with Landsat-8 data, and the masked cloud areas could be filled in with image processing methods. This paper presents a novel method for detection and filling of cloud and its shadow areas using the Landsat-8 sensor. First, cloud and its shadow areas are detected from the Landsat-8 bands using Otsu's thresholding method. The detected cloud and cloud-shadow areas are then replaced using coordinates of a reference image and pixel values from an experimental image corresponding to the coordinates of reference image. Experimental results using the Landsat-8 dataset indicated that the proposed method generates a superior quality of cloud free imagery.