Monitoring Volcanoes Using ASTER Satellite Imagery

Download video at: http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/1016 The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor is one of five sensors on board NASA's Terra satellite. ASTER data and imagery are crucial tools for monitoring volcanoes for any clues of imminent eruptions, for studying volcanoes during an eruption, and for analyzing impacts after an eruption. Scientists use ASTER imagery to study the composition and temperature of gasses emitted by a volcano, to look for changes to surface temperatures, and to interpret topographic and geological features. The ASTER sensor has three telescopes: visible near infrared (VNIR), shortwave (SWIR), and thermal infrared (TIR). This video highlights the use of VNIR imagery and TIR imagery to study volcanic gas composition and surface temperature changes. It also highlights the use of stereoscopic imagery to study topographic and geologic features. ASTER is a partnership between NASA, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Japan Space Systems (J-spacesystems). Note: This data visualization was created using NASA's ASTER Level 1 Precision Terrain Corrected Registered At-Sensor Radiance (AST_L1T) data distributed by the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), located at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. For more information: LP DAAC: https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/ ASTER L1T: http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/AST_L...