MASTER Airborne Multispectral Imagery and Land Surface Temperature for Western US

50 spectral bands of calibrated radiance data were collected by the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instrument during two NASA ER-2 flights from September 19 to October 13, 2006. The dataset includes Level 1B georeferenced imagery and derived Level 2 products for emissivity and land surface temperature, covering nine states in the western and midwestern United States. Data was coordinated by NASA's Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center and is managed by ORNL_CLOUD.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived land surface temperature and emissivity products using the 5-band thermal infrared L2 data.
• Analyzing surface reflectance and radiance across diverse landscapes with the 50-band L1B multispectral imagery.
• Conducting cross-calibration studies for spaceborne sensors like MODIS and ASTER using airborne spectral data.
• Mapping regional thermal anomalies or land cover characteristics at approximately 50-meter spatial resolution.

Strengths

• Provides data across a wide spectral range from 0.460 to 12.879 micrometers in 50 distinct bands.
• Includes derived, scientifically valuable L2 products for land surface temperature and 5-band emissivity.
• Covers a large geographic area spanning nine U.S. states, offering regional context.

Limitations

• Key technical details like file size, row count, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 2006-10-13 and another listing 2026-03 13.
• Primary data is in HDF-4 format, which can present access challenges for modern tools.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Dryden (Armstrong) Flight Research Center, ORNL_CLOUD.

Collection Method

Data collected by the MASTER instrument aboard a NASA ER-2 aircraft during two coordinated flights.

Time Range

2006-09-19 to 2006-10-13

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:00:04.339230

Geography

California, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, U.S.