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Description

The AST_L1A Version 3 data product was decommissioned on December 15, 2025. Users are encouraged to use the AST_L1A Version 4 data product.

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

  • Users are advised that ASTER SWIR data acquired from April 2008 to the present 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.
  • 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.

Improvements/Changes from Previous Version

  • Geometric correction to account for Earth's rotation angle and nutation.
  • Geometric correction for geolocation errors associated with nighttime TIR scenes.
  • Radiometric correction to account for degradation of onboard calibration lamps.
  • Starting June 23, 2021, radiometric calibration coefficient Version 5 (RCC V5) will be applied to newly observed ASTER data and archived ASTER data products. Details regarding RCC V5 are described in the following journal article.
    • Tsuchida, S., Yamamoto, H., Kouyama, T., Obata, K., Sakuma, F., Tachikawa, T., Kamei, A., Arai, K., Czapla-Myers, J.S., Biggar, S.F., and Thome, K.J., 2020, Radiometric Degradation Curves for the ASTER VNIR Processing Using Vicarious and Lunar Calibrations: Remote Sensing, v. 12, no. 3, at https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12030427.

Version Description

The AST_L1A Version 3 data product was decommissioned on December 15, 2025. Users are encouraged to use the AST_L1A Version 4 data product (https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_L1A.004).

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
Temporal Resolution
Varies
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
C14758250-LPDAAC_ECS
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
4786834
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. (2001). ASTER Level 1A Data Set - Reconstructed, unprocessed instrument data [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_L1A.003 Date Accessed: 2025-12-13

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
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.
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.
Glacier changes over the past 144 years at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada Curley, A. N.
Implementation of the NHI (Normalized hot spot indices) algorithm on infrared aster data—Results and future perspectives Mazzeo, G.
Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century Hugonnet, R.
Glacier-related hazards along the international Karakoram highway: Status and future perspectives Gao, Y.
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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