Sentinel-1A Level 0 Metadata: Unprocessed SAR Data from 2014

Sentinel-1A Level 0 products consist of compressed, unprocessed C-band synthetic aperture radar instrument source packets with auxiliary information. The collection contains ISO-compliant XML metadata files generated by the Alaska Satellite Facility from the associated Sentinel-1A SAFE format products. The satellite was launched on April 3, 2014, and provides dual polarization capability with imaging resolutions down to 5 meters and coverage up to 400 kilometers.

Use Cases

• Generate higher-level SAR data products based on the raw Level 0 instrument packets.
• Analyze satellite orbit and attitude information for precise geolocation studies.
• Study radar backscatter characteristics using the raw, unprocessed echo source packets.
• Develop or test SAR data decompression and focusing algorithms using the FDBAQ-compressed source data.

Strengths

• Provides the foundational raw data from which all other Sentinel-1A higher-level products are derived.
• Metadata is ISO-compliant XML, suggesting adherence to a standardized format.
• Data includes auxiliary information such as orbit and attitude data, which is critical for processing.

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Alaska Satellite Facility Distributed Active Archive Center (ASF DAAC)

Collection Method

Metadata files created from associated Sentinel-1A SAFE format products.

Time Range

Data collection began after the Sentinel-1A launch on April 3, 2014.

Freshness

null

Geography

Global coverage from a sun-synchronous polar orbit.