Daily Global Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity at 1km Resolution

MODIS/Terra MOD11A1 V6 provides daily land surface temperature and emissivity values at a 1-kilometer spatial resolution in a 1200x1200 km grid. The dataset includes daytime and nighttime surface temperature bands, quality assessments, observation times, view angles, and clear-sky coverage. Production by NASA's LPCLOUD was discontinued on November 16, 2022, and the product was fully decommissioned on July 31, 2023.

Use Cases

• Model urban heat island effects by analyzing daytime and nighttime land surface temperature bands across metropolitan areas.
• Assess surface emissivity changes over time using bands 31 and 32 emissivity data linked to land cover types.
• Filter for high-quality observations by applying the provided per-pixel quality control assessment flags.
• Analyze diurnal temperature cycles by comparing the daytime and nighttime surface temperature values for the same pixel.
• Study observation geometry effects on temperature retrieval using the included view zenith angle data.

Strengths

• Provides daily global coverage at a consistent 1-kilometer spatial resolution.
• Includes multiple derived data layers per observation: temperature, emissivity, quality flags, view angles, and times.

Limitations

• Data production was halted in November 2022, creating a permanent end to the time series.
• The dataset has been officially decommissioned, indicating it is not the current operational version.
• Above 30 degrees latitude, pixel values may be averages of multiple observations, reducing granularity.

Provenance

Source

NASA LPCLOUD via the MODIS/Terra satellite sensor.

Collection Method

Derived from the MOD11_L2 swath product, with pixel values averaged in high-latitude regions with multiple clear-sky observations.

Time Range

From mission start until November 16, —.

Freshness

Final data update was on 2022-11-16; the product is historical and no longer updated.

Geography

Global coverage.