Mitigating coarse spatial reconstruction to generate missing bands for the HLS dataset

Abstract. The Harmonized LandSat-Sentinel (HLS) dataset has significantly advanced Earth Observation by integrating data from Landsat and Sentinel satellites. However, challenges persist in achieving spectral band parity between LandSat and Sentinel-derived HLS products. This paper presents an extended investigation aimed at enhancing spatial reconstruction accuracy to enable spectral band parity within HLS products. Building upon our previous work, which utilized generative neural networks to address partial feature mismatches between S30 and L30 products, we introduce a refined approach that fully integrates a Self-Supervised Learning (SSL)-pretrained encoder into a U-Net architecture. This method aims to access multi-scale features and improve spatial reconstruction accuracy, addressing the limitations in spatial resolution observed in our earlier study. Our methodology incorporates a comprehensive ablation study to assess various SSL-pretrained backbone architectures. Preliminary results demonstrate significant improvements in spatial reconstruction accuracy compared to our previous work. The adapted U-Net architecture, leveraging SSL-pretrained encoders, shows enhanced capability in capturing intricate spatial features within the HLS dataset. Our experiments demonstrate a substantial improvement in spatial resolution and feature reconstruction for L30 products, particularly in bands not natively present in Landsat data, paving the way for more accurate multi-sensor analyses.