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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.

Known Issues

  • TIR bands: Acquisitions for TIR bands ended on January 16, 2026, at 05:10:45 UTC, when the ASTER TIR instrument was permanently turned off due to power limitations on the Terra spacecraft. More information is available in this NASA Science News Brief.
  • Data acquisition gaps: On November 28, 2024, one of Terra's power-transmitting shunt units failed. As a result, there was insufficient power to maintain functionality of the ASTER instrument. ASTER resumed acquisitions for the VNIR bands on January 18, 2025, and for the TIR bands on April 15, 2025. Users should note the data gap in ASTER acquisitions from November 28, 2024, through January 16, 2025, for VNIR observations, and a gap from November 28, 2024, through April 15, 2025, for TIR acquisitions.
  • SWIR bands: ASTER SWIR detectors are no longer functioning as of January 12, 2009, due to anomalously high SWIR detector temperatures.
  • SWIR anomaly: Users are advised that ASTER SWIR data acquired from April 2008 to January 11, 2009, exhibit anomalous saturation of values and anomalous striping. This effect is also present for some prior acquisition periods. Please refer to the ASTER SWIR User Advisory for more details.

Version Description

ASTER Version 4 is the final processing campaign.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
ASTER
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
15 Meters x 15 Meters
30 Meters x 30 Meters
90 Meters x 90 Meters
Location
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
4813792
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: 2026-04-30

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

SHOWING 1 OF 1
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Title Year Author Topic
SMOTE-BN-FLA: enhanced Bayesian network for rainfall-induced flood loss Xu, Yuanyuan, Wu, Jidong REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Consecutive Glacier Sub-Surge Events Within Five Years Were Identified in an Unexplored Glacier of the Karakoram Zhu, Q. H., Li, H. L., Ke, C. Q. REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Lithobiomes Heterogeneity and Geographic Distance Shape the Landscape Cabrini, Mylena, Trovo, Marcelo, Takahashi, Daiki, Suyama, Yoshihisa, Ramos, Renato, Lira, Catarina REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Record grounded glacier retreat caused by an ice plain calving process Ochwat, Naomi, Scambos, Ted, Anderson, Robert S., Winberry, J. Paul, Luckman, Adrian, Berthier, Etienne, Bernat, Maud, Antropova, Yulia K. REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY, Ice Velocity, Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation, Glacier Thickness/Ice Sheet Thickness
Joint Visual Coverage and Energy Consumption Optimization for UAV-Aided 5G-and-Beyond Communications Huang, Zhengrui, Wang, Shujie REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensorsan inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data Piermattei, Livia, Zemp, Michael, Sommer, Christian, Brun, Fanny, Braun, Matthias H., Andreassen, Liss M., Belart, Joaquin M. C., Berthier, Etienne, Bhattacharya, Atanu, Boehm Vock, Laura, Bolch, Tobias, Dehecq, Amaury, Dussaillant, Ines, Falaschi, Daniel, Florentine, Caitlyn, Floricioiu, Dana, Ginzler, Christian, Guillet, Gregoire, Hugonnet, Romain, Huss, Matthias, Kaab, Andreas, King, Owen, Klug, Christoph, Knuth, Friedrich, Krieger, Lukas, La Frenierre, Jeff, McNabb, Robert, McNeil, Christopher, Prinz, Rainer, Sass, Louis, Seehaus, Thorsten, Shean, David, Treichler, Desiree, Wendt, Anja, Yang, Ruitang REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Twenty-first century global glacier evolution under CMIP6 scenarios and the role of glacier-specific observations Zekollari, Harry, Huss, Matthias, Schuster, Lilian, Maussion, Fabien, Rounce, David R., Aguayo, Rodrigo, Champollion, Nicolas, Compagno, Loris, Hugonnet, Romain, Marzeion, Ben, Mojtabavi, Seyedhamidreza, Farinotti, Daniel REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY, Glacier Ablation, Glacier Accumulation, Glacier Area, Glacier Mass, Glacier Melt, Glacier Refreeze, Glacier Runoff
Hybrid Device-to-Device and Device-to-Vehicle Networks for Energy-Efficient Emergency Communications Huang, Zhengrui REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Analysis of regional changes in geodetic mass balance for all Caucasus glaciers over the past two decades Tielidze, Levan G., Jomelli, Vincent, Nosenko, Gennady A. Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Characteristics of surge-type tributary glaciers, Karakoram Bhambri, Rakesh, Hewitt, Kenneth, Haritashya, Umesh K., Chand, Pritam, Kumar, Amit, Verma, Akshaya, Tiwari, Sameer Kumar, Rai, Santosh Kumar REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Visible Radiance, Infrared Radiance
Co-Registration Methods and Error Analysis for Four Decades (19792018) of Glacier Elevation Changes in the Southern Patagonian Icefield Vacaflor, Paulina, Lenzano, Maria Gabriela, Vich, Alberto, Lenzano, Luis REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
High-Precision Measurement of Height Differences from Shadows in Non-Stereo Imagery: New Methodology and Accuracy Assessment Rada Giacaman, Camilo Andres REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Identification of Unstable Glacier Flow in the Western Tibetan Plateau and Karakoram Using Machine Learning Zhu, Q. H., Ke, C. Q., Li, H. L., Yu, X. N. REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Visible Radiance, Infrared Radiance
Recent 50-Year Glacier Mass Balance Changes over the Yellow River Source Zhou, Min, Xu, Song, Wang, Yetang, Wang, Yuzhe, Hou, Shugui REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Rapid glacier mass loss in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau since the year 2000 from satellite observations Zhao, Fanyu, Long, Di, Li, Xingdong, Huang, Qi, Han, Pengfei Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps, REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY, Reflectance
Multi-decadal glacier area and mass balance change in the southern Peruvian Andes Taylor, Liam S., Quincey, Duncan J., Smith, Mark W., Potter, Emily R., Castro, Joshua, Fyffe, Catriona L. Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Surface evolution and dynamics of the Kangriz glacier, western Himalaya in past 50 years Garg, Siddhi, Shukla, Aparna, Garg, Purushottam Kumar, Yousuf, Bisma, Shukla, Uma Kant RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
The Cerro Uyarani Metamorphic Complex on the Bolivian AltiplanoNew constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Central Andean basement between1.8 and 1.0 Ga Oliveira, Juliana Rezende de, Hauser, Natalia, Reimold, Wolf Uwe, Salina Ruiz, Amarildo, Matos, Ramiro, Werlang, Thassio REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Uncertainty Analysis of Digital Elevation Models by Spatial Inference Hugonnet, Romain, Brun, Fanny, Berthier, Etienne, Dehecq, Amaury, Mannerfelt, Erik Schytt, Eckert, Nicolas, Farinotti, Daniel REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Using spectral indices and terrain attribute datasets and their combination in the prediction of cadmium content in agricultural soil Agyeman, Prince Chapman, Khosravi, Vahid, Michael Kebonye, Ndiye, John, Kingsley, Boruvka, Lubos, Vasat, Radim REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century Hugonnet, Romain, McNabb, Robert, Berthier, Etienne, Menounos, Brian, Nuth, Christopher, Girod, Luc, Farinotti, Daniel, Huss, Matthias, Dussaillant, Ines, Brun, Fanny, Kaab, Andreas REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
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, Wael, Abdelnasser, Amr REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
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, Xiuyi, Yu, Wenping, Shi, Jinan, Ma, Mingguo, Li, Xiaolu, Wu, Wenjian REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Glacier changes over the past 144 years at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada Curley, Allison N., Kochtitzky, William H., Edwards, Benjamin R., Copland, Luke REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
Glacier-Related Hazards Along the International Karakoram Highway: Status and Future Perspectives Gao, Yongpeng, Liu, Shiyin, Qi, Miaomiao, Xie, Fuming, Wu, Kunpeng, Zhu, Yu REFLECTED INFRARED, THERMAL INFRARED, VISIBLE IMAGERY
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Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
SWIR_Band4 30 meter resolution SWIR Band 4 (1.600 to 1.700 µm) N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 255 N/A 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 N/A
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