AVIRIS-Classic: Airborne Hyperspectral Reflectance and Water Vapor

Data from 2008 to 2024 (or possibly 2025) contains Level 2 orthocorrected reflectance from NASA's AVIRIS-Classic airborne imaging spectrometer. It measures reflected radiance in 224 contiguous spectral bands from 400-2500 nm, with ground sampling distances ranging from 20 meters to sub-meter depending on flight altitude. The dataset supports applications in plant composition, geology, greenhouse gas mapping, and calibration of orbital sensors.

Use Cases

• Mapping plant composition and function based on hyperspectral reflectance signatures.
• Analyzing geology and soil properties using the visible to shortwave infrared spectral range.
• Estimating atmospheric water vapor and optical absorption paths for climate studies.
• Calibrating and validating orbital Earth observation platforms with high-fidelity airborne data.

Strengths

• High spectral resolution with 224 contiguous bands at approximately 10-nm intervals.
• Long temporal coverage, with an archive spanning at least 16 years (2008-2024).
• High signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and orthocorrected, calibrated surface reflectance products.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided across platforms.
• There is a conflict in the reported temporal coverage end date between sources (2024 vs. 2025).
• Data access and specific licensing terms are not clearly detailed in the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)

Collection Method

Collected by the AVIRIS-Classic pushbroom spectral mapping system flown on aircraft platforms including the Twin Otter, NASA's WB-57, and NASA's ER-2.

Time Range

2008 - 2024 (conflicting source suggests up to 2025)

Freshness

Last updated metadata on one platform is 2026-03-13, though the data collection period ends earlier.

Geography

Global, dependent on specific airborne flight lines; not specified in input.