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Full catalog/CAM5K30EMCLIM
CAM5K30EMCLIM·v003·dataset

How well land radiates heat, monthly (ASTER + MODIS, 0.05 deg)

Combined ASTER and MODIS Emissivity database over Land (CAMEL) Emissivity Climatology Monthly Global 0.05Deg V003
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. A long-term average map of how efficiently different patches of land give off heat as infrared energy, broken down by wavelength. It represents typical monthly conditions averaged over nearly two decades.

How it's made. Combines measurements from the ASTER and MODIS instruments on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites into a single global gridded product at about 5-kilometer resolution, averaged across 2003 through 2021.

How & where you'd use it. Mainly a behind-the-scenes input for accurately measuring land surface temperature and for climate and weather models, rather than something most people read directly.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › EMISSIVITYBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION INDEXTERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE › SNOW/ICE › SNOW COVER

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2003-01-01 → 2021-12-31
  • Measured byTerra (ASTER, MODIS) · Aqua (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments ([MEaSUREs](https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/competitive-programs/measures)) Combined Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Emissivity for Land (CAMEL) data suite has been expanded to include a monthly global emissivity climatology product (CAM5K30EMCLIM). This 0.05 degree (~5 kilometer) resolution product represents the mean emissivity from 2003 through 2021 (19 years). Additional details regarding the methodology are available in the User Guide and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD). Variables provided in the CAM5K30EMCLIM product include latitude, longitude, wavelength, number of samples used to calculate climatology, CAMEL quality flag, snow fraction derived from MODIS (MOD10), and CAMEL Emissivity.

Get the data

cam5k30emclim_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CAM5K30EMCLIM",
    version="003",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.