During these steps, ASF makes no guarantee that the products meet specification, including that the meta-data values are accurate. Consequently, uncalibrated data should be used for qualitative analysis only. Relative differences in backscatter which allow visual interpretation of features like wave patterns, oil slicks or fault lines should be unaffected, however subtle differences due to antenna patterns and other artifacts of the system must be considered. Uncalibrated data products can also be used to test ingest capabilities into image manipulation software, however the meta-data values may not yet be accurate. Watch the data product anomaly page for known problems with given data product.
Uncalibrated data is treated identically to calibrated data by our data system.
For uncalibrated data, the information in these calibration parameter files is really only estimates, nominal values and some Null values. The exact state of each parameter depends on how much we have looked at the data. These values are reported in the CEOS Leader file that comes with each product. This means that if you try to run your image calibration software you will get a nice black image. We want to make sure nobody mistakenly tries to use the data in an inappropriate way.