VJ121A2: VIIRS 8-Day Global Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity

NOAA-20 VIIRS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) 8-day product (VJ121A2) is a Level 3 composite dataset at 1-kilometer resolution. It merges daily daytime and nighttime acquisitions over an 8-day period into a single HDF file containing 11 science datasets, including LST, quality control, view angle, observation time, and emissivity for three spectral bands. The product is algorithmically aligned with the MODIS MOD21A2 dataset to ensure continuity within NASA's Earth Observation System.

Use Cases

• Monitoring urban heat island effects based on 8-day averaged daytime and nighttime land surface temperature layers.
• Analyzing surface energy balance and evapotranspiration trends using emissivity values for bands M14, M15, and M16.
• Assessing data quality and observation geometry for downstream analysis using the included quality control and view zenith angle layers.
• Conducting long-term climate continuity studies by leveraging the algorithm's synergy with the MODIS MOD21A2 product.

Strengths

• Provides both daytime and nighttime land surface temperature observations within a single file, facilitating diurnal analysis.
• Ensures continuity with the long-term MODIS record by using the same algorithmic approach and input atmospheric products.
• Contains 11 specific science datasets, including quality control and observation geometry parameters.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and precise temporal coverage are not provided in any source.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.
• Data is composited over 8 days using a simple average, which may smooth out short-term thermal dynamics.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the NOAA-20 VIIRS sensor, processed using a simple-averaging algorithm over 8-day periods.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-04-09 21:03:31.929624

Geography

Global