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Description
The Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day (MOD11A2) Version 6.1 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.
The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 land surface temperature and emissivity data products: (1) Version 6.1 Level-1B (L1B) products have been improved by undergoing various calibration changes that include: changes to the response-versus-scan angle (RVS) approach that affects reflectance bands for Aqua and Terra MODIS, corrections to adjust for the optical crosstalk in Terra MODIS infrared (IR) bands, and corrections to the Terra MODIS forward look-up table (LUT) update for the period 2012 – 2017, and (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).
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. (2021). MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A2.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-18
Wan, Zhengming, Simon Hook, and Glynn Hulley. “MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061.” NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A2.061. Date Accessed: 2026-05-18
Wan, Zhengming, et al. MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021, doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A2.061. Date Accessed: 2026-05-18
File Naming Convention
MOD11A2.A2025209.h20v17.061.2025217165719.hdf
The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD11A2) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025209), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h20v17), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025217165719), and the Data Format (hdf).
Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Total Surface Precipitation Rate