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Description
The MOD11A2 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MOD11A2 Version 6.1 data product.
The MOD11A2 Version 6 product provides an average 8-day per-pixel Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) with a 1 kilometer (km) spatial resolution in a 1,200 by 1,200 km grid. Each pixel value in the MOD11A2 is a simple average of all the corresponding MOD11A1 LST pixels collected within that 8-day period. The 8-day compositing period was chosen because twice that period is the exact ground track repeat period of the Terra and Aqua platforms. Provided along with the daytime and nighttime surface temperature bands are associated quality control assessments, observation times, view zenith angles, and clear-sky coverages along with bands 31 and 32 emissivities from land cover types.
Known Issues
Production of V6 Terra MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) data products was discontinued on November 16, 2022, due to significant loss of data retrieval following the Constellation Exit Maneuvers.
The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6 land surface temperature and emissivity data products: (1) Removed cloud-contaminated LSTs from Level 2 and Level 3 LST products, (2) 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), (3) Made minor adjustments in the classification-based surface emissivity values, especially for bare soil and rocks land cover types, (4) Tuned the day/night algorithm by adjusting weights to improve performance in desert regions where the incorporated split-window algorithm may not work well, and (5) 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.
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
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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)
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.
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Wan, Z., Hook, S., & Hulley, G. (2015). MOD11A2 MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A2.006 Date Accessed: 2026-06-07
Wan, Zhengming, Simon Hook, and Glynn Hulley. “MOD11A2 MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V006.” NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2015. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A2.006. Date Accessed: 2026-06-07
Wan, Zhengming, et al. MOD11A2 MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V006. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2015, doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A2.006. Date Accessed: 2026-06-07
File Naming Convention
MOD11A2.A2002273.h23v10.006.2015160225409.hdf
The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD11A2) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002273), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h23v10), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2015160225409), and the Data Format (hdf).
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