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

  • The MOD21C3 dataset provides monthly composite Land Surface Temperature (LST) data using a simple averaging algorithm from cloud-free daily acquisitions.

  • This dataset includes both daytime and nighttime acquisitions for LST, Quality Control (QC), view zenith angle, and viewing time, while emissivity values are an average of both.

  • The dataset is available from February 24, 2000, to September 1, 2025, with a monthly cadence.

  • MODIS data and products from the LP DAAC have no restrictions on subsequent use, sale, or redistribution.
MODIS/061/MOD21C3
Dataset Availability
2000-02-24T00:00:00Z–2026-02-01T00:00:00Z
Dataset Producer
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.

Note that scale factors and offsets described in the MODIS documentation for MOD21C3 bands are already applied to assets ingested into Earth Engine.

Documentation:

Bands

Bands

Pixel size: 1000 meters (all bands)

Name Units Min Max Scale Offset Pixel Size Description
Count_Day 1 65535 1000 meters

Count of Daytime Input Values
Count_Night 1 65535 1000 meters

Count of Nighttime Input Values
QC_Day 1000 meters

Quality Control for Daytime LST and Emissivity
QC_Night 1000 meters

Quality Control for Nighttime LST and Emissivity
LST_Day K 7500 65535 0.02 1000 meters

Average Daytime Land Surface Temperature
LST_Night K 7500 65535 0.02 1000 meters

Average Nighttime Land Surface Temperature
LST_Day_err K 1 255 0.04 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Land Surface Temperature
LST_Night_err K 1 255 0.04 1000 meters

Average Nighttime Land Surface Temperature
Day_view_angle deg 0 130 -65 1000 meters

Average Daytime View Zenith Angle
Night_view_angle deg 0 130 -65 1000 meters

Average Nighttime View Zenith Angle
Day_view_time h 0 120 0.2 1000 meters

Average Daytime View Time (UTC)
Night_view_time h 0 120 0.2 1000 meters

Average Nighttime View Time (UTC)
Emis_29_Day 1 255 0.002 0.49 1000 meters

Average Daytime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_29_Night 1 255 0.002 0.49 1000 meters

Average Nighttime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_29_Day_err 1 65535 0.0001 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_29_Night_err 1 65535 0.0001 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Nighttime Band 29 Emissivity
Emis_31_Day 1 255 0.002 0.49 1000 meters

Average Daytime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_31_Night 1 255 0.002 0.49 1000 meters

Average Nighttime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_31_Day_err 1 65535 0.0001 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_31_Night_err 1 65535 0.0001 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Nighttime Band 31 Emissivity
Emis_32_Day 1 255 0.002 0.49 1000 meters

Average Daytime Band 32 Emissivity
Emis_32_Night 1 255 0.002 0.49 1000 meters

Average Nighttime Band 32 Emissivity
Emis_32_Day_err 1 65535 0.0001 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Daytime Band 32 Emissivity
Emis_32_Night_err 1 65535 0.0001 1000 meters

Root-mean-square-error Nighttime Band 32 Emissivity
View_Angle deg -65 1000 meters

MODIS view zenith angle
Percent_land_in_grid % 1 100 1000 meters

Percent of Land Detections in Grid Cell
Clear_sky_days 0 2.14748e+09 1000 meters

Bitmap of Clear Sky Days (1 = clear, LSB = 1st day)
Clear_sky_nights 0 2.14748e+09 1000 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/2026-02-01T00:00:00Z
-90 -180 90 180
Google Earth Engine