MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Daily Global 1km Nighttime Data

MOD21A1N Version 6 is a NASA-produced daily global dataset of nighttime land surface temperature and emissivity at a 1km resolution. The data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, and users are directed to the Version 6.1 product. It is generated using a physics-based algorithm from MODIS thermal infrared bands and contains seven science datasets, including LST, quality control, and three emissivity bands.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface energy budgets based on daily nighttime temperature and emissivity data.
• Monitoring urban heat island effects using the global 1km gridded temperature data.
• Analyzing surface thermal properties for desert or arid regions, noting potential high-temperature outliers mentioned in the description.
• Studying diurnal temperature cycles by combining with daytime products, based on the dataset's focus on nighttime observations.

Strengths

• Data is produced daily from a well-documented physics-based algorithm (TES technique) developed by NASA.
• Provides three spectral emissivity bands alongside land surface temperature, offering multi-band analysis.
• Global coverage at a 1km spatial resolution on a sinusoidal grid.

Limitations

• The specific Version 6 product is decommissioned; users must migrate to the newer Version 6.1.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Known issues include potential extreme high-temperature outliers, especially over desert regions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Produced daily from MODIS Terra satellite Level 2 Gridded (L2G) intermediate products using the ASTER Temperature/Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm.

Time Range

Daily coverage, with a noted two-month latency after acquisition.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:41:17.266015; freshness should be verified as the product is decommissioned.

Geography

Global