Access to Synthetic Aperture Radar Data from the Alaska Satellite Facility
Abstract
The Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) currently downlinks, archives, processes and distributes Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for several international satellites. The SAR data are available to NASA-approved researchers and U.S. government agencies. A straightforward proposal process provides easy access to large quantities of worldwide RADARSAT-1 and JERS-1 data, as well as ERS-1 and ERS-2 data for Alaska and Antarctica. This presentation will outline the process by which researchers may access SAR data archived at ASF without charge. Proposals for NASA approval, approximately two to five pages in length, are submitted electronically to asf@eos.nasa.gov and undergo review at NASA and ASF. Key points to include in the proposal are a scientific justification for the data, linkage between proposal goals and NASA Earth Science Enterprise Research Strategy goals, description of data type (archived, new, or both), and the quantity of data required. Once approved, researchers can place new data acquisition requests (DARs) through ASF for RADARSAT-1 and ERS-2. RADARSAT-1 DARs can be anywhere in the world whereas ERS-2 DARs are limited to the ASF and McMurdo Ground Station receiving regions. ASF can also request data archived at select foreign ground stations for approved proposals. With the successful launch of JAXA's Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), ASF has taken on a new role as the Americas ALOS Data Node (AADN). Data from the three sensors aboard ALOS are available to researchers within the Americas for the cost of production.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AGUFM.H31D1449W
- Keywords:
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- 0758 Remote sensing;
- 1640 Remote sensing (1855);
- 4275 Remote sensing and electromagnetic processes (0689;
- 2487;
- 3285;
- 4455;
- 6969 Remote sensing;
- 8040 Remote sensing