MODIS/Aqua Near Real Time Calibrated Radiances for 36 Spectral Bands

36 discrete spectral bands provide calibrated at-aperture radiances from 0.4 to 14.4 microns. Data is generated from MODIS Level 1A scans by LANCEMODIS and converted to geophysical units. The Near Real Time product delivers swath data at a 5-minute temporal resolution.

Use Cases

• Classify land cover and cloud boundaries using radiances from bands 1-2 and 3-7.
• Estimate atmospheric water vapor profiles using measurements from bands 17-19 and 27-29.
• Monitor ocean color and phytoplankton biomass with radiance data from bands 8-16.
• Derive surface and cloud temperature from thermal infrared bands 20-23 and 31-32.
• Detect cirrus clouds using the specific 1.36-1.39 micron channel in band 26.

Strengths

• 36 spectral bands cover a wide electromagnetic range from 0.4 to 14.4 microns.
• Data includes quality flags, error estimates, and calibration data for validation.
• Near Real Time (NRT) delivery enables monitoring of rapidly evolving events.

Limitations

• Visible and shortwave infrared bands are only available during daytime overpasses.
• The specific spatial resolution (1km) may be coarse for applications requiring fine detail.
• Unknown row count and sample size limit assessment of statistical representativeness.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata via the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite.

Collection Method

Generated from MODIS Level 1A raw radiance scans, calibrated to geophysical units (W/(m^2 um sr)).

Freshness

Near Real Time

Geography

Global coverage from the Aqua satellite's polar orbit.