MODIS/Terra Thermal Bands: Daily Global Land Surface Brightness Temperatures at 1km

Global daily land surface data from NASA's Terra satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The product provides brightness temperature and albedo data from thermal bands 20, 31, and 32 at a 1-kilometer pixel resolution. The MODTBGA Version 6 product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface temperature dynamics based on daily brightness temperature data.
• Analyzing surface thermal properties and radiative balance based on thermal band and albedo data.
• Monitoring daily global land surface changes using the 'best available pixel' selection method.

Strengths

• Data is provided at a daily temporal frequency.
• Pixel resolution is 1 kilometer, offering moderate spatial detail.
• Product uses a 'best available pixel' selection method from multiple observations.

Limitations

• The product version (V006) was decommissioned on July 31, 2023; data is not current.
• Known issues exist and require consultation of external documentation.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite observations from the MODIS instrument aboard the Terra satellite.

Time Range

Daily product; specific temporal coverage is not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:36:45.247244; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global