MASTER Airborne Multispectral Data for Catalina Island

MASTER Level 1B data products contain georeferenced multispectral imagery from a single airborne flight over Catalina Island, California, on October 31, 2005. The dataset includes calibrated radiance measurements across 50 spectral bands, from visible to thermal infrared wavelengths, at approximately 7-meter spatial resolution. This collection was coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory and is managed by NASA.

Use Cases

• Land cover classification using 50-band multispectral imagery.
• Surface temperature analysis from thermal infrared bands (up to 12.879 micrometers).
• Coastal and vegetation studies leveraging georeferenced data for Catalina Island.
• Sensor cross-calibration and algorithm validation with calibrated radiance values.
• Flight path and instrument configuration analysis for mission planning.

Strengths

• Provides data from 50 distinct spectral bands covering 0.460 to 12.879 micrometers.
• Offers high spatial resolution of approximately 7 meters for detailed analysis.
• Includes calibrated radiance values, essential for quantitative remote sensing.

Limitations

• Limited to a single flight date (2005-10 31), offering no temporal series.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: datagov lists 2026-03-13, while nasa_earthdata lists the collection date of 2005-10-31.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory.

Collection Method

Data collected by the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instrument aboard a DOE B-200 aircraft.

Time Range

2005-10-31

Freshness

2026-03-13

Geography

Catalina Island, California, U.S.