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Description

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Level 1A (AST_L1A) contains reconstructed, instrument digital numbers (DNs) derived from the acquired telemetry streams of the telescopes: Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR), Shortwave Infrared (SWIR), and Thermal Infrared (TIR). Additionally, geometric correction coefficients and radiometric calibration coefficients are calculated and appended to the metadata but not applied. The AST_L1A product has a spatial resolution of 15 meters (m) for the VNIR bands, 30 m for the SWIR bands, and 90 m for the TIR bands.

Know Issues

  • The QAPERCENTINTERPOLATEDDATA field in .met files was found to be inconsistent due to a software upgrade. Following evaluation by the ASTER Science Team, it was determined to have no impact on science data and has been set to 0 and nullified.
  • SWIR data acquired after April 2008 may exhibit anomalous saturation and striping. Users should consult the ASTER SWIR User Advisory for additional details.

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Radiometric Calibration Update: Version 4 applies Radiometric Calibration Coefficient Version 5 (RCC V5) to improve the radiometric accuracy of the raw DNs, based on research by Tsuchida and others (2020), published in Remote Sensing.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
ASTER
Spatial Extent
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Spatial Resolution
15 Meters x 15 Meters
Geographic Region
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-03-04 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
c3306888985-lpcloud
Data State
ACTIVE
Processing Level
1A
Published
Updated

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 L1A Reconstructed Unprocessed Instrument Data V004 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_L1A.004 Date Accessed: 2025-07-28

Data Center Citation

NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. 2025. ASTER L1A Reconstructed Unprocessed Instrument Data V004. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA: NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_L1A.004.

Documents

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD) The ATBD provides physical theory and mathematical procedures for the calculations used to produce the data products.
GENERAL DOCUMENTATION ASTER SWIR User Advisory
GENERAL DOCUMENTATION The ASTER Level-1 Products Specification provides a description of the data file.
USER'S GUIDE ASTER Level-1 User Guide
USER'S GUIDE The technical information in the User's Guide enables users to interpret and use the data products.

Learning Resources

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