Land Surface Temperature

The Terra and Aqua satellites have a common sensor onboard called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The MODIS sensor views the earth’s surface through 36 different wavelengths, several of which show the thermal characteristics of the earth’s surface. The Land Surface Temperature product is calculated from these thermal channels. The Terra and Aqua satellites both pass over each part of Australia at least 2 times every 24 hours. The Terra satellite passes over between 1:00am and 3:00am and between 1:00pm and 3:00pm Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The Aqua satellite passes over between 4:30pm and 6:30pm and between 4:30am and 6:30am UTC. Data is received from four different stations around Australia: Murdoch (WA), Alice Springs (NT), Crib Point (Victoria) and Townsville (Queensland).

Click here to read a case study using land surface temperature imagery from the NOAA-15 satellite.