Abstract
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer is one of five instruments operating on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Terra platform. Launched in 1999, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) has been acquiring optical data for 20 years. ASTER is a joint project between Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; and U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Numerous reports of geologic mapping and mineral exploration applications of ASTER data attest to the unique capabilities of the instrument. Until 2000, Landsat was the instrument of choice to provide surface composition information. Its scanners had two broadband short wave infrared (SWIR) bands and a single thermal infrared band. A single SWIR band amalgamated all diagnostic absorption features in the 2–2.5 micron wavelength region into a single band, providing no information on mineral composition. Clays, carbonates, and sulfates could only be detected as a single group. The single thermal infrared (TIR) band provided no information on silicate composition (felsic vs. mafic igneous rocks; quartz content of sedimentary rocks). Since 2000, all of these mineralogical distinctions, and more, could be accomplished due to ASTER’s unique, high spatial resolution multispectral bands: six in the SWIR and five in the TIR. The data have sufficient information to provide good results using the simplest techniques, like band ratios, or more sophisticated analyses, like machine learning. A robust archive of images facilitated use of the data for global exploration and mapping.
Highlights
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five instruments on the U.S Terra spaceborne platform (the other instruments are the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), and Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT))
The science team pushed for better spatial resolution, high spectral resolution short wave infrared (SWIR) bands, multispectral thermal infrared (TIR) bands, and along-track stereo capability
The first optical satellite data applied for geologic mapping were acquired by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Landsat 1 ( known as ERTS (Earth Resources Technology Satellite)) Multispectral Scanner (MSS) with four bands in the visible to near infrared wavelengths (VNIR), and about 80 m spatial resolution, launched in 1972
Summary
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five instruments on the U.S Terra spaceborne platform (the other instruments are the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), and Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT)). Launched in December 1999, ASTER has been continuously acquiring image data for 20 years. Japanese aerospace companies built the ASTER subsystems for METI; NASA provided the Terra platform and the Atlas 2AS launch vehicle. Both organizations are responsible for instrument calibration, scheduling, data archiving, processing, and distribution. ASTER was conceived as a geologic mapping instrument. As a general-purpose imaging instrument, ASTER-acquired data are used in numerous scientific disciplines, including land use/land cover, urban monitoring, urban heat island studies, wetlands studies, agriculture monitoring, forestry, etc. Of special importance is the use of ASTER data for geologic applications: lithologic mapping and mineral exploration. This article reviews the geologic applications of early spaceborne optical instruments, discusses the history of the ASTER instrument, describes the instrument, and reviews applications of ASTER data for lithologic mapping and mineral exploration
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