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Description

The MOD11_L2 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MOD11_L2 Version 6.1 data product.

The MOD11_L2 Version 6 swath product provides per-pixel Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) with a pixel size of 1,000 meters (m). The product is produced daily in 5-minute temporal increments of satellite acquisition using the generalized split-window algorithm. MOD11_L2 is a Level 2 product which provides the input for the Level 3 products. Provided in each MOD11_L2 file are LST, quality control assessment, error estimates, bands 31 and 32 emissivities, zenith angle of the pixel view, observation time, and the geographic coordinates for every five scan lines and samples.

Known Issues

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Removed cloud-contaminated LSTs from Level 2 and Level 3 LST products.
  • Updated the coefficient look-up table (LUT) for the split-window algorithm with comprehensive regression analysis of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) simulation data in bands 31 and 32 over wide ranges of surface and atmospheric conditions, especially extending the upper boundary for (LST – Ts-air) in arid and semi-arid regions. Increased the overlap between various sub-ranges to reduce the sensitivity of the algorithm to uncertainties in the input data (i.e., column water vapor and air surface temperature from MOD07).
  • Made minor adjustments in the classification-based surface emissivity values, especially for bare soil and rocks land cover types.
  • Tuned the day/night algorithm by adjusting weights to improve performance in desert regions where the incorporated split-window algorithm may not work well.
  • Generated new gridded LST&E products with a 6 km spatial resolution for 8-day (MOD11B2) and monthly (MOD11B3) intervals in response to user community requests.

Version Description

The MOD11_L2 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MOD11_L2 Version 6.1 data product (https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD11_L2.061).

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Spatial Resolution
1000 Meters x 1000 Meters
Geographic Region
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-24 to 2022-11-16
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/MODAPS)
Concept ID
C2763297205-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Processing Level
2
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Land Surface Temperature,
Emissivity

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Wan, Z., Hook, S., & Hulley, G. (2015). MOD11_L2 MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 5-Min L2 Swath 1km V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD11_L2.006 Date Accessed: 2025-10-30

File Naming Convention

MOD11_L2.A2002281.2350.006.2015160225759.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD11) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002281), the Hours and Minutes of Acquisition provided as HHMM (2350), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2015160225759), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

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Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
Downscaling land surface temperature—A framework based on geographically and temporally neural network weighted autoregressive model with spatio-temporal fused scaling factors Wu, J.
An operational land surface temperature retrieval methodology for Chinese second-generation Huanjing disaster monitoring satellite data Zhao, E. Y.
Spatial and temporal inversion of land surface temperature along coastal cities in arid regions Al-Ruzouq, R.
Seamless downscaling of the ESA CCI soil moisture data at the daily scale with MODIS land products Zhao, W.
Validation of non-linear split window algorithm for land surface temperature estimation using Sentinel-3 satellite imagery: Case study; Tehran Province, Iran Zarei, A.
Comparing different space-borne sensors and methods for the retrieval of land surface temperature Rehman, A. U. R.
Factors affecting urban electricity consumption—a case study in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area using an integrated approach of earth observation data and data analysis Nguyen, C. T.
Monitoring temporal variations in the geothermal activity of Miocene Lesvos volcanic field using remote sensing techniques and MODIS – LST imagery Peleli, S.
Comparison of land surface temperature algorithm using landsat-8 data for South Korea Choi, S.
Urban heat island formation in greater Cairo: Spatio-temporal analysis of daytime and nighttime land surface temperatures along the urban-rural gradient Athukorala, D.
SHOWING 10 OF 23

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
Emis_31 Band 31 Emissivity N/A uint8 0 0 to 255 0.002
Emis_32 Band 32 Emissivity N/A uint8 0 0 to 255 0.002
Error_LST Land Surface Temperature Error Kelvin uint8 0 0 to 255 0.04
Latitude Latitude of every 5 scan lines and 5 pixels Degree float32 -999 -999 to 90 N/A
Longitude Longitude of every 5 scan lines and 5 pixels Degree float32 -999 -999 to 180 N/A
LST Land Surface Temperature Kelvin uint16 0 0 to 65535 0.02
QC Quality control for daytime LST and emissivity Bit Field uint16 N/A N/A to 65535 N/A
View_angle Zenith angle of MODIS viewing at the pixel Degree uint8 255 255 to 180 0.5
View_time Local time of pixel observation Hours uint8 255 255 to 240 0.1
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