CAMEL: Monthly Global Land Emissivity at 5km Resolution

NASA's CAMEL dataset merges ASTER and MODIS satellite data to produce monthly land emissivity at 13 spectral hinge points. The product integrates the high-resolution detail of ASTER GED V4 with the broader coverage of MODIS UWIREMIS, adjusted for vegetation and snow. Layers include emissivity, NDVI, snow fraction, and multiple quality flags for each 0.05-degree grid cell.

Use Cases

• Climate model validation based on high-spectral-resolution emissivity data.
• Land surface temperature retrieval using the 13 hinge-point emissivity values.
• Monitoring seasonal vegetation and snow cover changes via the included NDVI and MOD10 snow fraction layers.
• Quality assessment of satellite-derived emissivity using the CAMEL, ASTER, and BFE quality flags.

Strengths

• Combines two major satellite emissivity datasets (ASTER GED V4 and MODIS UWIREMIS) to capitalize on their unique strengths.
• Provides data at 13 spectral hinge points, extended to high spectral resolution via Principal Component regression.
• Version 2 includes two additional laboratory datasets to improve characterization of snowy scenes.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is medium; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided.
• There is a conflict in reported freshness; one source lists an update in 2026, while another lists 2017.
• The dataset's methodology is complex, requiring consultation of the User Guide and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for full understanding.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) MEaSUREs program, combining data from University of Wisconsin-Madison and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Collection Method

Created by adjusting ASTER GED V3 for vegetation/snow, aggregating to 5km, merging with MODIS UWBF emissivity, and extending spectral resolution via PC regression.

Time Range

Monthly data; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

2026-03-13 (from datagov), conflicting with a 2017 date from nasa_earthdata.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.05-degree (~5 kilometer) resolution.