Aqua MODIS Monthly Global Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity

Monthly land surface temperature and emissivity data derived from Aqua MODIS daily observations, composited into a 0.05-degree global climate modeling grid. The dataset includes daytime and nighttime measurements, quality assessments, and ancillary data layers. It is produced by the LPCLOUD organization using Version 6.1 of the MYD11C3 product.

Use Cases

• Modeling urban heat island effects by analyzing daytime and nighttime LST layers across different land cover types.
• Assessing long-term climate trends by analyzing the time-series of monthly averaged LST values on a global 0.05-degree grid.
• Validating land surface models by comparing simulated emissivity values against the provided band 20, 22, 23, 29, 31, and 32 emissivity layers.
• Filtering for reliable observations using the quality control assessment and number of clear-sky observations layers for each monthly composite.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage on a consistent 0.05-degree (approx. 5.6 km) grid with 7200 columns and 3600 rows.
• Provides separate, composited data layers for both daytime and nighttime observations, including view zenith angles and observation times.

Limitations

• Data quality is subject to cloud cover, as indicated by the 'number of clear-sky observations' layer required for filtering.
• Known issues exist for this sensor and version, requiring users to consult external quality assessment resources for specific errors.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata (LPCLOUD), from the Aqua MODIS instrument.

Collection Method

Values are derived by compositing and averaging the corresponding month of MYD11C1 daily files.

Freshness

Monthly update frequency.

Geography

Global coverage.