ASTER L1B Registered Radiance at Sensor with Multi-Resolution Bands

ASTER L1B data provides radiometrically calibrated and geometrically co-registered radiance measurements from the Terra satellite. The product includes Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) bands at 15-meter resolution, Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) bands at 30 meters, and Thermal Infrared (TIR) bands at 90 meters. It is produced by LPCLOUD from NASA's ASTER instrument, with known operational anomalies affecting different spectral bands over time.

Use Cases

• Land surface temperature analysis using calibrated radiance from Thermal Infrared (TIR) Band 11.
• Geological feature identification by comparing registered radiance values across Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) Bands 1, 2, and 3.
• Assessing vegetation health through spectral indices calculated from the 15-meter resolution VNIR bands.
• Detecting thermal anomalies by analyzing time-series of registered radiance from the TIR bands prior to their deactivation in January 2026.

Strengths

• Spatial resolution varies by band: 15 meters for VNIR, 30 meters for SWIR, and 90 meters for TIR, enabling multi-scale analysis.
• Data is radiometrically calibrated and geometrically co-registered, with intra- and inter-telescope registration corrections applied.

Limitations

• SWIR bands have been non-functional since January 2009, and data from April 2008 to January 2009 exhibits anomalous saturation and striping.
• TIR band acquisitions ended permanently on January 16, 2026, limiting temporal coverage for thermal data.
• Significant data acquisition gaps exist, including a gap from November 28, 2024, to January 16, 2025, for VNIR and a longer gap for TIR until April 15, 2025.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Terra satellite Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing with radiometric calibration and geometric co-registration applied to raw sensor data.

Time Range

Coverage spans the ASTER mission lifetime, with specific band deactivations: SWIR failed in 2009, TIR ended in January 2026.

Geography

Global coverage from the Terra satellite's orbit.