This dataset contains monthly daytime and nighttime clear-sky land surface temperatures (LSTs) and their uncertainty estimates from multiple Infra-Red (IR) instruments on polar orbiting satellites. Daytime and nighttime temperatures correspond to 10:00 and 22:00 local solar time (local solar time is defined as the time in a 24 hour day with 12 noon occurring when the sun is at its highest point at that longitude).
Land surface temperature is a Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Essential Climate Variable. This dataset provides a near 30-year time series of LST suitable for climate analysis, offering long‑term monthly data at relatively high spatial resolution for climate modellers and other users. The dataset is comprised of LSTs from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer 2 (ATSR-2), the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR), Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer on Earth Observation System - Terra (Terra MODIS), and the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer on Sentinel 3B (SLSTRB).
The inputs to the processing chain are Level 1B brightness temperatures from the ATSR-2, the AATSR, Terra MODIS, and SLSTRB. Data from the different instruments have been aligned by first intercalibrating all instruments to a common reference and then applying a correction for the 30 minute difference in equator crossing times between AATSR and SLSTRB (10:00) and ATSR-2 and Terra MODIS (10:30).
LSTs are derived using a common calibration database and a single probabilistic cloud-clearing algorithm for all instruments. They are spatially gridded and then compiled into daily daytime and nighttime products. The daily time series are merged across instruments (Level 3S), and averaged to monthly values. Data are provided globally on a 0.01° × 0.01° equal-angle grid.
The dataset was produced by the University of Leicester as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Land Surface Temperature Climate Change Initiative which strives to improve satellite datasets to GCOS standards.
Land surface temperature is a Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Essential Climate Variable. This dataset provides a near 30-year time series of LST suitable for climate analysis, offering long‑term monthly data at relatively high spatial resolution for climate modellers and other users. The dataset is comprised of LSTs from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer 2 (ATSR-2), the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR), Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer on Earth Observation System - Terra (Terra MODIS), and the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer on Sentinel 3B (SLSTRB).
The inputs to the processing chain are Level 1B brightness temperatures from the ATSR-2, the AATSR, Terra MODIS, and SLSTRB. Data from the different instruments have been aligned by first intercalibrating all instruments to a common reference and then applying a correction for the 30 minute difference in equator crossing times between AATSR and SLSTRB (10:00) and ATSR-2 and Terra MODIS (10:30).
LSTs are derived using a common calibration database and a single probabilistic cloud-clearing algorithm for all instruments. They are spatially gridded and then compiled into daily daytime and nighttime products. The daily time series are merged across instruments (Level 3S), and averaged to monthly values. Data are provided globally on a 0.01° × 0.01° equal-angle grid.
The dataset was produced by the University of Leicester as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Land Surface Temperature Climate Change Initiative which strives to improve satellite datasets to GCOS standards.
Interval
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DOI
10.24381/7058b4fd
Portal
Climate Data Store
Product Family
Data
Product Type
Satellite observations
Provider
Copernicus C3S
Spatial Coverage
Global
Temporal Coverage
Past
Variable Domain
Land (biosphere)