How hot the land surface gets each day (Terra, 1 km)

In plain English

What it measures. How hot the land surface gets, measured once per day at about 1-kilometer detail across the globe. It also records how efficiently surfaces give off heat (emissivity).

How it's made. Calculated from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Terra satellite using its daily swath data, with multiple clear-sky readings averaged together where available.

How & where you'd use it. Used to study heat patterns, drought, and how land surfaces warm and cool. Note: this version was retired in 2023, with users directed to the newer 6.1 version.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURELAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › EMISSIVITY

Coverage & cadence

Time span2000-02-24 → 2022-11-16
Measured byTerra (MODIS)
Processing levelLevel 3
Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
FormatsHDF-EOS2
StatusDEPRECATED

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 MOD11A1 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the [MOD11A1 Version 6.1](https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD11A1.061) data product. The MOD11A1 Version 6 product provides daily per-pixel Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) with 1 kilometer (km) spatial resolution in a 1,200 by 1,200 km grid. The pixel temperature value is derived from the [MOD11_L2](https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD11_L2.006) swath product. Above 30 degrees latitude, some pixels may have multiple observations where the criteria for clear-sky are met. When this occurs, the pixel value is a result of the average of all qualifying observations. 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](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/displayissue?id=98) following the Constellation Exit Maneuvers. * For complete information about known issues please refer to the [MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/knownissue?sensor=MODIS&sat=Terra&as=6).

Get the data

mod11a1_access.py

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MOD11A1",
    version="006",
    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.

Official links

The LDOPE Land Product Quality Assessment website provides known issues, maneuvers, and product quality of the land products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
The technical information in the User's Guide enables users to interpret and use the data products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
The ATBD provides physical theory and mathematical procedures for the calculations used to produce the data products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
The File Specification provides a description of the product file including Scientific Data Sets and their attributes. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
Validation at stage 2 has been achieved for all MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
Further details regarding MODIS land product validation for the MOD11 data products are available from the MODIS Land Team Validation site. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION