VNP21C2: 8-Day Global Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity at 5.6km

Global land surface temperature and emissivity data are provided at a 0.05-degree (~5,600 meter) resolution, composited over 8-day periods. The dataset contains 25 science layers, including daytime and nighttime land surface temperature, quality control, view zenith angle, time of observation, and emissivity for VIIRS bands M14, M15, and M16. It is formatted as a Climate Modeling Grid to promote continuity with MODIS Terra and Aqua products for climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Monitoring urban heat island effects based on the 8-day composited daytime and nighttime land surface temperature layers.
• Assessing surface energy balance and emissivity for climate models based on the provided emissivity values for specific infrared bands.
• Validating and ensuring continuity with heritage MODIS land surface temperature products based on the algorithm's stated compatibility objective.
• Identifying potential cloud or dust contamination in thermal data over desert regions based on the documented issue of extreme temperature outliers.

Strengths

• Contains 25 distinct science datasets within a single file, providing both daytime and nighttime observations.
• Designed for algorithmic compatibility with MODIS Terra and Aqua products, supporting long-term data continuity.
• Provides a documented quality control layer for filtering data, as indicated in the science dataset list.

Limitations

• Metadata for row count, file size, and specific column names is unavailable across all sources.
• The product has a known issue with increased occurrences of extreme high-temperature outliers, especially over desert regions, due to undetected cloud and dust.
• License information is inconsistently reported as 'other-license-specified' or null.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Algorithmically composited from daily VIIRS VNP21A1D and VNP21A1N acquisitions using a simple-averaging method over 8-day periods.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:13:00.854324

Geography

Global