I just got a definitive email response on how to cite ASTER data (or other data from the same source), and that there are no restrictions on their use. I am publishing a paper in ESRI's ArcUser, whose the editor also got this email, so ESRI should now be aware (if they weren't before), that these data are acceptable for publication (you don't have to only use ESRI's data).

Thanks to Janice Wilson for clarifying this!

This information is verbatim from http://lpdaac.usgs.gov/citation.asp ; I wanted to clarify that ASTER data was included in this catch-all citation info they posted.

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Greetings.

In the event that data from the Land Processes (LP) DAAC are incorporated into your research, please supply the following acknowledgment within your published work: "These data are distributed by the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), located at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) http://LPDAAC.usgs.gov."

Note: If possible, please e-mail or send us reprints/citations of papers or oral presentations founded on LP DAAC data (see below for email and mailing address). This will help us to stay informed of how our data are being utilized.

There are no restrictions for use of data from the LP DAAC unless otherwise expressly stated.

Citation Information
http://lpdaac.usgs.gov/citation.asp

We have included Monica Pratt at ESRI in this reply.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Best regards,
Janice Wilson

NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center User Services
USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS)
47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57198-0001
Voice: 605-594-6116
Toll Free: 866-573-3222
Fax: 605-594-6963
E-mail: LPDAAC@eos.nasa.gov
Web: http://LPDAAC.usgs.gov