MASTER: Airborne Multispectral Radiance for TES Algorithm Validation

Three flights over Phoenix, Arizona, and the Jornada Experimental Range in New Mexico collected this Level 1B data in April-May 2003. The dataset contains georeferenced, calibrated radiance imagery across 50 spectral bands from 0.460 to 12.879 micrometers at approximately 10-meter resolution. It was specifically gathered to evaluate the Temperature Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm for deriving land surface temperature and emissivity from ASTER thermal infrared data.

Use Cases

• Validating the Temperature Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm based on the provided thermal infrared radiance data.
• Analyzing land surface temperature and emissivity patterns using the 50-band multispectral imagery.
• Conducting geospatial analysis of arid and semi-arid regions from the 10-meter resolution airborne data.
• Comparing airborne sensor performance with satellite-based thermal infrared sensors like ASTER.

Strengths

• Contains data from 50 spectral bands covering a wide wavelength range from 0.460 to 12.879 micrometers.
• Provides high spatial resolution imagery at approximately 10 meters per pixel.
• Includes ancillary data such as flight paths, spectral band information, and instrument configuration for context.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided across platforms.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (2003-05-02 vs. 2026-04-10), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• The dataset is limited to a specific time period (April-May 2003) and geographic area, reducing general temporal coverage.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Time Range

2003-04-28 to 2003-05-02

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 2003-05-02 (nasa_earthdata) and 2026-04-10 (datagov).

Geography

Phoenix, Arizona, and the Jornada Experimental Range (JORNEX), New Mexico, United States.