MASTER Airborne Multispectral Imagery for Southwestern US

Nine flights from October 1-8, 2002 collected Level 1B multispectral imagery over Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico using the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instrument aboard a DOE B-200 aircraft. The dataset provides georeferenced, calibrated radiance data across 50 spectral bands from visible to thermal infrared wavelengths at approximately 15-meter spatial resolution. Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory, it includes coverage of the Jornada Experimental Range (JORNEX) along with flight paths, instrument configuration, and ancillary metadata.

Use Cases

• Land cover classification and change detection using 50 spectral bands of calibrated radiance.
• Validation of satellite sensor data (e.g., MODIS, ASTER) with coincident, higher-resolution airborne imagery.
• Spectral analysis of vegetation and soil properties in arid ecosystems like the Jornada Experimental Range.
• Atmospheric correction algorithm development leveraging flight path and instrument configuration metadata.
• Generation of high-resolution base maps and digital elevation models from georeferenced L1B imagery.

Strengths

• Provides high spatial resolution data at approximately 15 meters per pixel across nine coordinated flights.
• Covers a broad spectral range from 0.460 to 12.879 micrometers with 50 distinct calibrated radiance bands.
• Includes extensive ancillary data such as flight paths, spectral band information, and instrument configuration for precise analysis.

Limitations

• The dataset is limited to a single eight-day campaign in October 2002, offering no temporal series for change analysis.
• Platform metadata conflicts on the last updated date, with sources reporting 2002-10-08 and 2026-03-13, creating uncertainty about maintenance.
• Specific column names and the total size or row count of the dataset are not provided by any source, limiting detailed structural understanding.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) at Nellis Air Force Base.

Collection Method

Data collected via the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instrument aboard a DOE B-200 aircraft during nine prescribed flights.

Time Range

2002-10-01 to 2002-10-08

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:48:04.554815

Geography

Southwestern United States, covering areas in Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico, including the Jornada Experimental Range.