NASA CAMEL Global Land Emissivity Uncertainty Monthly 5km

NASA's CAMEL dataset provides monthly global land surface emissivity uncertainty estimates at a 0.05-degree resolution. The CAM5K30UC product quantifies total uncertainty by decomposing it into temporal, spatial, and algorithm components across 13 spectral hinge points. This version 3 record is part of the MEaSUREs program and integrates updated MODIS Terra and Aqua calibration data.

Use Cases

• Quantifying algorithm uncertainty for land surface temperature models using the 'algorithm uncertainty' layer.
• Analyzing spatial variability in emissivity estimates across a region with the 'spatial uncertainty' layer.
• Assessing temporal stability of emissivity for a specific location using the 'temporal uncertainty' layer.
• Validating satellite-derived emissivity products by comparing total uncertainty against independent measurements.
• Filtering data quality for downstream analysis using the 'CAMEL quality' and 'total uncertainty quality' information layers.

Strengths

• Provides a detailed breakdown of uncertainty into three independent components: temporal, spatial, and algorithm.
• Offers high-resolution global coverage at 0.05 degrees (~5 km) for each month.
• Integrates data from two major satellite instruments, ASTER and MODIS, for a combined record.
• Version 3 includes the latest MODIS calibration corrections and new MOD21 input data.

Limitations

• Contains missing monthly granules for specific months between 2000 and 2016, as documented.
• Exact row count, file size, and complete column list are not provided across platforms.
• License is specified as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov but is 'None' on NASA Earthdata, indicating a conflict or lack of clarity.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) MEaSUREs program

Collection Method

Combined data from ASTER and MODIS satellite sensors processed with the University of Wisconsin-Madison MODIS Baseline Fit emissivity database.

Time Range

Monthly data with specific gaps; version 3 includes updates, but exact start and end years are not specified.

Freshness

2026-03-13 03:15:42.356843

Geography

Global land coverage