Aqua MODIS Daily Fire and Thermal Anomaly Swath Data

MODIS/Aqua Thermal Anomalies/Fire 5-Min L2 Swath 1km V061 is a daily satellite product identifying active fires and thermal anomalies like volcanoes. Data is collected in 5-minute swaths, each covering approximately 2,030 by 2,300 kilometers. The dataset is produced by LPCLOUD for NASA and is updated to version 6.1 with calibration improvements.

Use Cases

• Identifying active wildfire locations using thermal anomaly detection algorithms.
• Monitoring volcanic thermal activity through infrared band observations.
• Generating higher-level fire products by serving as the foundational input dataset.
• Analyzing land surface temperature changes over time from calibrated reflectance and infrared bands.

Strengths

• Daily production provides frequent global observations for timely analysis.
• Version 6.1 includes specific calibration improvements for reflectance and infrared bands from 2012-2017.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov indicates established use and importance.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Known issues exist and require consultation of the external MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.
• Sources disagree on license details, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and another providing no license information.

Provenance

Source

LPCLOUD for NASA

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Aqua MODIS instrument, processed into 5-minute swath products.

Time Range

Daily production; specific start date unknown.

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:19:42.826006

Geography

Global coverage, with each data swath approximately 2,030 km along track and 2,300 km across track.