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Description

The Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Surface Radiance VNIR and SWIR (AST_09) contains atmospherically corrected data for the Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) sensors. Both the VNIR and SWIR data are atmospherically corrected and are generated using the bands of the corresponding ASTER Level 1B image.

The AST_09 product has a spatial resolution of 15 meters (m) for the VNIR bands and 30 m for the SWIR bands.

Known Issues

  • Data acquisition gap: On November 28, 2024, one of Terra's power-transmitting shunt units failed. As a result, there was insufficient power to maintain functionality of the ASTER instrument. ASTER resumed acquisitions for the VNIR bands on January 18, 2025. Users should note the data gap in ASTER acquisitions from November 28, 2024, through January 16, 2025, for VNIR observations.
  • International date line: Level 2 products that are on the international date line/anti-meridian have incorrect bounding coordinates for the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zone defined in the file metadata.
  • SWIR bands: ASTER SWIR detectors are no longer functioning as of January 12, 2009, due to anomalously high SWIR detector temperatures.
  • SWIR anomaly: Users are advised that ASTER SWIR data acquired from April 2008 to January 11, 2009, exhibit anomalous saturation of values and anomalous striping. This effect is also present for some prior acquisition periods. Please refer to the ASTER SWIR User Advisory for more details.

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for ASTER Level 2 Version 4 data products: (1) ASTER V4 uses Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) data as the primary source for atmospheric parameters (ozone, water vapor, pressure, and temperature), improving the precision of emissivity calculations, (2) When MERRA-2 data are unavailable, the product employs Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) data as a backup, with climatology data serving as a final fallback to ensure continuous processing, and (3) Data format has transitioned from legacy HDF-EOS2 to Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG).

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
ASTER
Spatial Extent

N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
15 Meters x 15 Meters
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-03-06 to Present
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Ground Data System, Japan Space Systems, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Japan (JP/METI/AIST/JSS/GDS)
Concept ID
C3306886555-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
3458900
Processing Level
2
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
INFRARED FLUX ,
Infrared Imagery ,
Infrared Radiance ,
VISIBLE FLUX ,
VISIBLE IMAGERY ,
Visible Radiance

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. (2025). ASTER L2 Surface Radiance VNIR and SWIR V004 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_09.004 Date Accessed: 2026-03-12

File Naming Convention

AST_09_00412082020214052_20250912142915_SRA_VNIR_B01.tif

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (AST_09), followed by the 3-digit Version Number plus the Date and Time of Acquisition designated as MMDDYYYYHHMMSS (00412082020214052), Date and Time of Processing designated as YYYYMMDDHHMMSS (20250912142915), Product Type (SRA), Band Type (VNIR), Band/Variable (B01), and the Data Format (tif).

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
SWIR_Band4 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 4 (1.600 to 1.700 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.2174 N/A
SWIR_Band5 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 5 (2.145 to 2.185 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.0696 N/A
SWIR_Band6 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 6 (2.185 to 2.225 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.0625 N/A
SWIR_Band7 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 7 (2.235 to 2.285 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.0597 N/A
SWIR_Band8 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 8 (2.295 to 2.365 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.04178 N/A
SWIR_Band9 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 9 (2.360 to 2.430 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.0318 N/A
VNIR_Band1 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 1 (0.52 to 0.60 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.676 N/A
VNIR_Band2 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 2 (0.63 to 0.69 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.708 N/A
VNIR_Band3N 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 3 (0.78 to 0.86 µm) W/m²/sr/μm int16 N/A 0 to 32767 0.862 N/A
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