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Description

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Level 1A (AST_L1A) contains reconstructed, instrument digital numbers (DNs) derived from the acquired telemetry streams of the telescopes: Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR), Shortwave Infrared (SWIR), and Thermal Infrared (TIR). Additionally, geometric correction coefficients and radiometric calibration coefficients are calculated and appended to the metadata but not applied. The AST_L1A product has a spatial resolution of 15 meters (m) for the VNIR bands, 30 m for the SWIR bands, and 90 m for the TIR bands.

Know Issues

  • The QAPERCENTINTERPOLATEDDATA field in .met files was found to be inconsistent due to a software upgrade. Following evaluation by the ASTER Science Team, it was determined to have no impact on science data and has been set to 0 and nullified.
  • SWIR data acquired after April 2008 may exhibit anomalous saturation and striping. Users should consult the ASTER SWIR User Advisory for additional details.

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Radiometric Calibration Update: Version 4 applies Radiometric Calibration Coefficient Version 5 (RCC V5) to improve the radiometric accuracy of the raw DNs, based on research by Tsuchida and others (2020), published in Remote Sensing.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
ASTER
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
15 Meters x 15 Meters<br>30 Meters x 30 Meters<br>90 Meters x 90 Meters
Geographic Region
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-03-04 to Present
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Ground Data System, Japan Space Systems, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Japan (JP/METI/AIST/JSS/GDS)
Concept ID
C3306888985-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
4730615
Processing Level
1A
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
REFLECTED INFRARED ,
THERMAL INFRARED ,
VISIBLE IMAGERY

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. (2025). ASTER L1A Reconstructed Unprocessed Instrument Data V004 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_L1A.004 Date Accessed: 2025-12-13

File Naming Convention

AST_L1A_00401232021224134_20250912130909.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (AST_L1A), followed by the 3-digit Version Number plus the Date and Time of Acquisition designated as MMDDYYYYHHMMSS (00401232021224134), Date and Time of Processing designated as YYYYMMDDHHMMSS (20250912130909), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
Analysis of regional changes in geodetic mass balance for all Caucasus glaciers over the past two decades Tielidze, L. G.
Co-registration methods and error analysis for four decades (1979–2018) of glacier elevation changes in the southern Patagonian icefield Vacaflor, P.
High-precision measurement of height differences from shadows in non-stereo imagery—New methodology and accuracy assessment Giacaman, C. A. R.
Multi-decadal glacier area and mass balance change in the southern Peruvian Andes Taylor, L. S.
Using spectral indices and terrain attribute datasets and their combination in the prediction of cadmium content in agricultural soil Agyeman, P. C.
The Cerro Uyarani Metamorphic Complex on the Bolivian Altiplano—New constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Central Andean basement between de Oliveira, J. R.
Identification of the characteristic scale of fine ground objects: A case study of the core observation area in the middle reaches of the Heihe river basin Wu, X.
The presence and influence of glacier surging around the Geladandong ice caps, North East Tibetan Plateau King, O.
High resolution mapping of alteration zones in Daghbag and Bakriya gold occurrences (Central Eastern Desert, Egypt) using field, mineralogical-geochemical, and remote sensing data Hagag, W.
Using multispectral and radar remote sensing data for geological investigation, Qena-Safaga Shear Zone, Eastern Desert, Egypt Kamal El-Din, G. M.
SHOWING 10 OF 23

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
SWIR_Band4 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 4 (1.600 to 1.700 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
SWIR_Band5 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 5 (2.145 to 2.185 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
SWIR_Band6 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 6 (2.185 to 2.225 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
SWIR_Band7 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 7 (2.235 to 2.285 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
SWIR_Band8 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 8 (2.295 to 2.365 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
SWIR_Band9 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 9 (2.360 to 2.430 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
TIR_Band10 90 meter resolution TIR Band 10 (8.125 to 8.475 µm) N/A uint16 N/A 0 to 65535 N/A
TIR_Band11 90 meter resolution TIR Band 11 (8.475 to 8.825 µm) N/A uint16 N/A 0 to 65535 N/A
TIR_Band12 90 meter resolution TIR Band 12 (8.925 to 9.275 µm) N/A uint16 N/A 0 to 65535 N/A
TIR_Band13 90 meter resolution TIR Band 13 (10.25 to 10.95 µm) N/A uint16 N/A 0 to 65535 N/A
TIR_Band14 90 meter resolution TIR Band 14 (10.95 to 11.65 µm) N/A uint16 N/A 0 to 65535 N/A
VNIR_Band1 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 1 (0.52 to 0.60 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
VNIR_Band2 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 2 (0.63 to 0.69 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
VNIR_Band3B 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 3B (0.78 to 0.86 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
VNIR_Band3N 15 meter resolution VNIR Band 3N (0.78 to 0.86 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A
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