Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Data

and Band Combinations

W.L. Stefanov

ASTER Instrument and Data Format

The ASTER instrument, flying on board the Earth-orbiting Terra satellite, acquires
surficial data in the visible to mid-infrared (or thermal) wavelength regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum at a variety of spatial resolutions. Table 1 provides the sensor
bandpasses and specific pixel resolutions. ASTER was built by the Earth Remote Sensing
Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC) of Japan and is housed on the Terra satellite by a
cooperative agreement with NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) program. It has been
in operation since 2000 and has a nominal mission lifetime of six years. Unlike sensors
installed on the familiar Landsat satellites that continually collect and transmit data,
ASTER is request-driven and therefore a targeted instrument (Abrams, 2000). This
means that spatial and temporal coverage over any given area on the Earth s surface is
generally not continuous.

Band Wavelength (microns) Spatial Resolution (m)

Visible to Near-Infrared Bands

1 0.52 0.60 15
2 0.63 0.69 15
3 0.76 0.86 15

Shortwave Infrared Bands

4 1.60 1.70 30
5 2.145 2.185 30
6 2.185 2.225 30
7 2.235 2.285 30
8 2.295 2.365 30
9 2.360 2.430 30

Mid-infrared (Thermal) Bands

10 8.125 8.475 90
11 8.475 8.825 90
12 8.925 9.275 90
13 10.25 10.95 90
14 10.95 11.65 90

Table 1. Wavelength ranges and spatial resolutions of ASTER bands (Abrams, 2000).
There are two groups of ASTER data included in our database. The first group is
designated L1B and includes geometrically and radiometrically corrected at-sensor
values. The L1B data contain all fifteen bands of data, and have not been atmospherically
corrected. The second group is the Level 2 data, all of which have been
atmospherically corrected. The use of atmospherically corrected data is recommended for
detailed spectral analysis and temporal change investigations. Atmospheric correction has
been applied to these data using a lookup-table based algorithm developed by the ASTER
science team (Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
2001;http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/documents/ASTERHigherLevelUserGuideVer2May01.
pdf). Level 2 datasets available in our database include visible through shortwave
infrared reflectance ( AST_07 ), midinfrared emissivity ( AST_05 ) and surface
kinetic temperature ( AST_08 ).

Available Band Combinations

The following section details the various band combinations available through this site.
Some guidelines as to what the various color combinations indicate are also provided, but
it should be noted that these are generalizations and may not be accurate for any given
pixel. Available data products include non-stretched (i.e. no color enhancement has been
applied) and stretched versions. Stretched versions have had a 2% linear stretch applied,
meaning the lowest and highest 1% of the image histogram (the distribution tails )
have been set to 0 and 255 respectively, with the remainder of the histogram recalculated
accordingly.

Data product descriptions listed below are relevant for both L1B and Level 2 datasets.
For most mapping and visualization purposes, L1B data products are sufficient for use.
An exception to this general rule of thumb is when significant atmospheric effects are
visible in a scene (i.e. clouds, haze). In this case, it is preferable to use Level 2 data as
input into the processing algorithms.

Data products are output in Geotiff format. This format is suitable for direct input into
image-processing and GIS environments for further analysis and fusion with other data.

Visible to Near-Infrared

This data product is comprised of bands 3, 2, 1 as Red-Green-Blue (RGB) at 15 m/pixel

spatial resolution. This band combination highlights actively photosynthesizing
vegetation in red (near-infrared band), with undisturbed bedrock and soils primarily
expressed as browns, greens, and greys. Built materials and regions typically exhibit
blue-green, reddish - purple, and white colors.

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

This data product is the result of ((band 3 band 2)/(band 3 + band 2)) calculated for
each image pixel in a given scene. The resulting greyscale image provides a relative
abundance map of actively photosynthesizing vegetation at 15 m/pixel. Bright pixels
correspond to higher relative vegetation abundance, while dark pixels correspond to
lower vegetation abundance.

Shortwave Infrared

These images comprise bands 8, 6, and 4 as RGB at 30 m/pixel. As multiband data in this
wavelength range tends to be highly correlated, a decorrelation stretch has been applied
to obtain maximum separation in data values between bands. This processing step is
applied for both the non-stretched and stretched data products. These bands have been
selected primarily to highlight spectral features diagnostic for iron oxides, illite, and
kaolinite (bands 8 and 6); and carbonates (band 4). This data product is designed for rapid
reconnaissance based on these general mineral types; multispectral analysis using all six
calibrated shortwave bands is recommended for detailed mineralogical investigations.

Mid-infrared (Thermal)

Bands 13, 12, 10 as RGB at 90 m/pixel comprise this data product. As multiband data in
this wavelength range tends to be highly correlated, a decorrelation stretch has been
applied to obtain maximum separation in data values between bands. This processing step
is applied for both the non-stretched and stretched data products. These bands have been
selected primarily to highlight spectral features diagnostic for silicates (band 13), iron-
and magnesium-bearing minerals and lithologic types (band 10), and carbonates (all three
bands). Using these band combinations, quartzites are bright red; basaltic rocks are blue;
granitoids are purple-violet; and carbonates tend to be green to yellow-green. For
spectral analysis and comparison, the mid-infrared emissivity ( AST_05 ) data set is
most useful.

Surface Kinetic Temperature

This dataset is derived from atmospherically corrected midinfrared data using an

emissivity-temperature separation algorithm developed by the ASTER science team (Jet
Propulsion Laboratory,
2001;http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/documents/ASTERHigherLevelUserGuideVer2May01.
pdf). Data values are in degrees C, and images have a 90 m/pixel spatial resolution.
Greyscale images show high temperatures as bright pixels and low temperatures as
dark pixels. This data set is most appropriate for temporal investigations or those studies
that involve absolute surface temperatur