Landsat 8/9 NDMI
Normalized Difference Moisture Index for Landsat 8/9
Water Satellite Provider: USGS/NASA
Applications
vegetation water content monitoring
drought assessment
water stress detection
forest disturbance mapping
fire fuel level monitoring
crop moisture assessment
waterlogging detection
Quick Stats
Category: water
Sensor: Landsat 8/9
Provider: USGS/NASA
Bands Used: 2
Description
The Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) was utilized by Wilson and Sader (2002) to detect moisture levels in vegetation. NDMI is sensitive to vegetation water content using NIR and SWIR bands, making it useful for drought monitoring, water stress detection, and forest disturbance mapping.
Formulas
General Formula
Landsat 8/9 Specific Formula
(B5 - B6) / (B5 + B6)Spectral Band Visualization
Band Wavelengths
NIR: 780-1400
SWIR1: 1550-1750
Code Examples
ndmi2.py
References
Wilson, E.H. and Sader, S.A. (2002) - Detection of forest harvest type using multiple dates of Landsat TM imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, 80, 385-396