MODIS Terra Near Real-Time Fire Detection Swath Data

Twice daily observations from the Terra MODIS instrument provide global thermal anomaly and fire detection data. The MOD14 product includes fire-mask, algorithm quality, radiative power, and fire pixel attribute layers at 1-kilometer resolution. This Level-2 swath data is produced by NASA's LANCEMODIS team for near real-time monitoring.

Use Cases

• Detect active fire pixels using the fire-mask layer to monitor wildfire events.
• Analyze fire radiative power data to estimate the intensity and energy output of detected fires.
• Assess algorithm quality flags to filter false alarms from sun glint or unmasked coastlines.
• Map global fire distribution and frequency by aggregating daily fire-mask observations.
• Study diurnal fire patterns by comparing morning (10:30 AM) and evening (10:30 PM) detection swaths.

Strengths

• Four daily global observations from Terra and Aqua MODIS instruments.
• 1-kilometer spatial resolution for precise fire pixel localization.
• Multiple Science Data Sets including fire-mask, quality, and radiative power.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column count, and temporal coverage range are unknown.
• Potential for false alarms from sources like sun glint, requiring quality flag checks.
• Data granularity is limited to swath format, not a continuous global grid.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata, LANCEMODIS.

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS 4- and 11-micrometer radiances using absolute and relative detection algorithms.

Freshness

Near real-time, daily updates.

Geography

Global.