ASTER Surface Radiance with Crosstalk Correction

AST_09XT Version 3 data provides atmospherically corrected surface radiance from the Terra satellite's ASTER instrument for Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) sensors. The product corrects a known crosstalk phenomenon affecting SWIR bands and offers spatial resolutions of 15 meters for VNIR and 30 meters for SWIR. This version was decommissioned by NASA's LPCLOUD on December 15, 2025, with users directed to a newer Version 4 product.

Use Cases

• Analyze land surface properties using calibrated radiance values from 9 spectral bands across VNIR and SWIR wavelengths.
• Assess vegetation health and mineral composition by comparing surface radiance across different corrected spectral bands.
• Monitor temporal changes in surface reflectance, noting data acquisition gaps from November 2024 to April 2025.
• Validate atmospheric correction algorithms by comparing Level 1B data with the corrected radiance in this Level 2 product.
• Investigate the impact and correction of the SWIR crosstalk signal on imagery for bands 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Strengths

• Includes correction for a known SWIR crosstalk phenomenon that caused blurred images.
• Provides data at two spatial resolutions: 15 meters for VNIR bands and 30 meters for SWIR bands.

Limitations

• SWIR data acquired from April 2008 onward exhibits anomalous saturation of values and striping.
• Contains significant data acquisition gaps, including a gap for VNIR from November 28, 2024, to January 16, 2025.
• This Version 3 product is decommissioned and superseded by a newer Version 4 data product.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Atmospheric correction applied to corresponding bands from an ASTER Level 1B image, delivered in HDF-EOS format.

Time Range

Covers the ASTER mission timeline, with noted anomalies from April 2008 and a major acquisition gap starting November 2024.

Freshness

Data collection was active, but this specific product version reached end-of-life on 2025-12-15.

Geography

Global coverage from the Terra satellite's orbit.