VJ121C3: NOAA-20 VIIRS Monthly Land Surface Temperature & Emissivity

The VJ121C3 dataset provides monthly composites of land surface temperature and emissivity at a 0.05-degree (~5,600 meter) resolution. It contains 25 Science Datasets (SDS) layers, including daytime and nighttime LST, quality control, view zenith angle, time of observation, and emissivity for bands M14, M15, and M16 within a single HDF file. This Level 3 product is formatted as a Climate Modeling Grid for use in climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Climate model parameterization based on the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Monitoring monthly land surface temperature trends using the averaged daytime and nighttime LST layers.
• Analyzing surface emissivity properties for bands M14, M15, and M16.
• Quality assessment of satellite-derived LST&E using the provided quality control layers.
• Studying diurnal temperature cycles using the separate daytime and nighttime observations.

Strengths

• Contains both daytime and nighttime acquisitions as separate layers within a single file, unlike its source daily products.
• Provides data at a consistent 0.05-degree (~5,600 meter) resolution suitable for climate models.
• Includes improvements from Version 2, such as enhanced calibration algorithms and geolocation accuracy.

Limitations

• The exact number of Science Datasets is inconsistent between sources (25 vs. 27).
• Column names and dataset size/row counts are not provided.
• Known issues exist, requiring users to consult external quality assessment websites.

Provenance

Source

LPCLOUD (NASA Earthdata), derived from NOAA-20 VIIRS satellite daily acquisitions (VJ121A1D, VJ121A1N).

Collection Method

Algorithm based on a simple averaging method of all cloud-free daily acquisitions over a monthly period.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:47:27.749484

Geography

Global