VJ121A1D: Daily Global Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity at 1km

Global daily land surface temperature and emissivity data at a 1-kilometer resolution, derived from NOAA-20 VIIRS satellite observations. The dataset is produced by averaging multiple cloud-free, high-accuracy observations per grid cell, weighted by observation coverage, and is algorithmically compatible with NASA's MODIS products for continuity. It contains seven science datasets including temperature, quality control, emissivity for three spectral bands, view angle, and observation time.

Use Cases

• Monitoring urban heat island effects based on daily 1km land surface temperature (LST) data.
• Validating climate and weather models using the quality-controlled, gridded temperature and emissivity values.
• Analyzing surface energy fluxes and emissivity properties using the M14, M15, and M16 band emissivity science datasets.
• Assessing diurnal temperature patterns by combining the time of observation data with the LST values.

Strengths

• Algorithm is synergistically developed with the established MODIS LST&E product (MOD21A1D) for continuity.
• Data is compiled daily from multiple observations, applying a quality threshold (15% observation coverage) for averaging.
• Product contains seven specific science datasets (SDS), including LST, quality control, and three emissivity bands.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific license details are missing or inconsistent across platform entries.
• The dataset's spatial resolution (1km) is a resampled product from the sensor's native 750m resolution.
• Documentation for known issues is external, requiring users to consult a separate website and user guide.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from NOAA-20 VIIRS satellite swath data, processed through a Level 2 to Level 3 gridding (L2G) and averaging algorithm.

Time Range

Daily compilation; specific start date not provided in input.

Freshness

2026-04-09 (from datagov platform)

Geography

Global coverage on a sinusoidal MODIS grid.