ASTER Surface Reflectance Data for Visible and Shortwave Infrared Bands

ASTER L2 Surface Reflectance VNIR and SWIR V004 provides measures of solar radiation reflected from Earth's surface, corrected for atmospheric effects. The product offers a spatial resolution of 15 meters for VNIR bands and 30 meters for SWIR bands. It is produced by LPCLOUD from data collected by the Terra satellite's ASTER instrument.

Use Cases

• Classify land cover types using VNIR band reflectance values at 15-meter resolution.
• Monitor vegetation health and biomass by analyzing reflectance in specific VNIR and SWIR spectral bands.
• Detect geological features and mineral composition through analysis of SWIR band reflectance patterns.
• Perform change detection over time by comparing surface reflectance values from different acquisition dates.

Strengths

• Surface reflectance is corrected for atmospheric effects and viewing geometry.
• VNIR bands provide high spatial resolution of 15 meters.

Limitations

• SWIR bands have not functioned since January 12, 2009, limiting spectral analysis.
• SWIR data from April 2008 to January 2009 exhibits anomalous saturation and striping.
• A known data acquisition gap exists for VNIR observations from November 28, 2024, through January 16, 2025.

Provenance

Source

LPCLOUD, utilizing data from the Terra satellite's ASTER instrument.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing measurements processed to Level 2 surface reflectance.

Time Range

Data collection spans the operational lifetime of the ASTER instrument, with a known gap from late 2024 to early 2025.

Geography

Global coverage from the Terra satellite's orbit.