MOD21C3.061 Terra Land Surface Temperature and 3-Band Emissivity Monthly L3 Global 0.05 Deg CMG

  • MOD21C3 provides monthly Land Surface Temperature (LST) and emissivity data, derived from MODIS Terra observations.

  • The dataset includes daytime and nighttime LST, along with quality control measures and viewing geometry information.

  • LST values are calculated by averaging cloud-free daily acquisitions over an 8-day period.

  • The dataset is available globally at a 1km resolution from February 2000 to November 2024.

  • Users can access and analyze the data through Google Earth Engine, with code snippets and documentation readily available.
MODIS/061/MOD21C3
Dataset Availability
2000-02-24T00:00:00Z–2025-09-01T00:00:00Z
Dataset Provider
Earth Engine Snippet
ee.ImageCollection("MODIS/061/MOD21C3")
Cadence
1 Month
Tags
climate emissivity global lst monthly nasa surface-temperature terra usgs

Description

The MOD21C3 dataset is a monthly composite LST product that uses an algorithm based on a simple averaging method. The algorithm calculates the average from all the cloud free MOD21A1D and MOD21A1N daily acquisitions from the 8-day period. Unlike the MOD21A1 data sets where the daytime and nighttime acquisitions are separate products, the MOD21A2 contains both daytime and nighttime acquisitions. The LST, Quality Control (QC), view zenith angle, and viewing time have separate day and night bands, while the values for the MODIS emissivity bands 29, 31, and 32 are the average of both the nighttime and daytime acquisitions.

Documentation:

Bands

Pixel Size
1000 meters

Bands

Name Units Min Max Scale Offset Pixel Size Description
Count_Day 1 65535 meters

Count of Daytime Input Values
Count_Night 1 65535 meters

Count of Nighttime Input Values
QC_Day meters

Quality Control for Daytime LST and Emissivity
QC_Night meters

Quality Control for Nighttime LST and Emissivity
LST_Day K 7500 65535 0.02 meters

Average Daytime Land Surface Temperature
LST_Night K 7500 65535 0.02 meters

Average Nighttime Land Surface Temperature
LST_Day_err K 1 255 0.04 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Land Surface Temperature
LST_Night_err K 1 255 0.04 meters

Average Nighttime Land Surface Temperature
Day_view_angle deg 0 130 -65 meters

Average Daytime View Zenith Angle
Night_view_angle deg 0 130 -65 meters

Average Nighttime View Zenith Angle
Day_view_time h 0 120 0.2 meters

Average Daytime View Time (UTC)
Night_view_time h 0 120 0.2 meters

Average Nighttime View Time (UTC)
Emis_29_Day 1 255 0.002 0.49 meters

Average Daytime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_29_Night 1 255 0.002 0.49 meters

Average Nighttime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_29_Day_err 1 65535 0.0001 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_29_Night_err 1 65535 0.0001 meters

Root-mean-square-error Nighttime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_31_Day 1 255 0.002 0.49 meters

Average Daytime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_31_Night 1 255 0.002 0.49 meters

Average Nighttime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_31_Day_err 1 65535 0.0001 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_31_Night_err 1 65535 0.0001 meters

Root-mean-square-error Nighttime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_32_Day 1 255 0.002 0.49 meters

Average Daytime Band 32 Emissivity
Emis_32_Night 1 255 0.002 0.49 meters

Average Nighttime Band 32 Emissivity
Emis_32_Day_err 1 65535 0.0001 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Band 32 Emissivity
Emis_32_Night_err 1 65535 0.0001 meters

Root-mean-square-error Nighttime Band 32 Emissivity
View_Angle deg -65 meters

MODIS view zenith angle
Percent_land_in_grid % 1 100 meters

Percent of Land Detections in Grid Cell
Clear_sky_days 0 2.14748e+09 meters

Bitmap of Clear Sky Days (1 = clear, LSB = 1st day)
Clear_sky_nights 0 2.14748e+09 meters

Bitmap of Clear Sky Nights (1 = clear, LSB = 1st day)

Terms of Use

Terms of Use

MODIS data and products acquired through the LP DAAC have no restrictions on subsequent use, sale, or redistribution.

Citations

Citations:

DOIs

Explore with Earth Engine

Code Editor (JavaScript)

var dataset = ee.ImageCollection('MODIS/061/MOD21C3')
                  .filter(ee.Filter.date('2018-01-01', '2018-05-01'));
var landSurfaceTemperature = dataset.select('LST_Day');
var landSurfaceTemperatureVis = {
  min: 216.0,
  max: 348.0,
  palette: [
    '040274', '040281', '0502a3', '0502b8', '0502ce', '0502e6',
    '0602ff', '235cb1', '307ef3', '269db1', '30c8e2', '32d3ef',
    '3be285', '3ff38f', '86e26f', '3ae237', 'b5e22e', 'd6e21f',
    'fff705', 'ffd611', 'ffb613', 'ff8b13', 'ff6e08', 'ff500d',
    'ff0000', 'de0101', 'c21301', 'a71001', '911003'
  ],
};
Map.setCenter(6.746, 46.529, 2);
Map.addLayer(
    landSurfaceTemperature, landSurfaceTemperatureVis,
    'Average Daytime Land Surface Temperature');
Open in Code Editor
The MOD21C3 dataset is a monthly composite LST product that uses an algorithm based on a simple averaging method. The algorithm calculates the average from all the cloud free MOD21A1D and MOD21A1N daily acquisitions from the 8-day period. Unlike the MOD21A1 data sets where the daytime and nighttime acquisitions are …
MODIS/061/MOD21C3, climate,emissivity,global,lst,monthly,nasa,surface-temperature,terra,usgs
2000-02-24T00:00:00Z/2025-09-01T00:00:00Z
-90 -180 90 180
Google Earth Engine