NASA MODIS Image of the Day: November 8, 2007 – MODIS Land Surface Temperature Night Product
The maps shown here were made using data collected during the nighttime by the MODIS on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites.
They show one month of data from September 1, 2007 to October 1, 2007.
The colors on these maps represent temperature patterns of the top millimeter (or “skin”) of Earth’s land surface. Yellow shows the warmest temperatures (up to 45 degrees C) and light blue shows the coldest temperatures (down to -25 degrees C). Black means “no data.” The type of “surface” MODIS measures varies by location. In some places, the measurement represents the skin temperature of the bare land surface. In other places, the temperature represents the skin temperature of whatever is on the land including: snow and ice; or the leafy canopy of forests and crop fields; or human-made structures such as pavement and building rooftops. (These maps should not be confused with the surface air temperature values that given in typical weather reports.) Scientists monitor land surface temperature because the warmth rising off Earth’s landscapes influences our world’s weather and climate patterns. Likewise, land surface temperature is also influenced by changes in weather and climate patterns. Scientists routinely produce such maps to better understand the relationships between land surface temperature and changing weather and climate patterns. In particular, scientists want to monitor how the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases impacts land surface temperature. Scientists are also interested to track where and how glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost regions are changing as land surface temperatures change. Commercial farmers may also use land surface temperature maps like these to evaluate water requirements for their crops during the summer, when they are prone to heat stress. Conversely, in winter such maps can help citrus farmers to determine where and when orange groves were exposed to damaging frost. There is a high resolution image available here. This image was made by Reto Stockli, NASA’s Earth Observatory Team, using data provided by the MODIS Land Science Team.
