Aqua MODIS Daily Global 1km Fire and Thermal Anomaly Data

MODIS/Aqua satellite data provides eight consecutive days of global fire observations packaged into single files. The Level 3 product includes fire mask, quality indicators, and fire radiative power at a 1-kilometer spatial resolution. This Version 6 product was decommissioned by NASA's LPCLOUD in July 2023.

Use Cases

• Mapping global fire locations and extent over eight-day periods using the fire mask layer.
• Analyzing fire intensity trends by studying the maximum fire-radiative-power (MaxFRP) feature.
• Assessing data reliability for specific pixels by applying the pixel quality indicators layer.
• Tracking the temporal progression of fire events across the eight daily layers within each file.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage at a consistent 1-kilometer resolution.
• Provides eight days of consecutive observations in a single file for temporal analysis.
• Includes multiple Science Dataset layers like fire mask and MaxFRP for multi-faceted analysis.

Limitations

• This specific Version 6 product is decommissioned and no longer updated.
• Known issues exist, including data quality concerns pre-November 2000 and sensor outages like in August 2020.
• The 1km resolution may not detect smaller or lower-intensity fires.

Provenance

Source

NASA LPCLOUD, from the Aqua satellite's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing, processed into Level 3 gridded data products.

Time Range

Coverage spans the operational lifetime of the Aqua MODIS sensor prior to product decommissioning.

Freshness

Product generation was daily, but this version is decommissioned as of July 31, 2023.

Geography

Global coverage using a sinusoidal (SIN) grid projection.