JPSS Land Surface Temperature

Team Members: Yuling Liu and Peng Yu

Background

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series currently consists of three satellites carrying the VIIRS instrument. The first of the series, Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP), was launched on October 28, 2011, and joined by NOAA-20 (JPSS-1) and NOAA-21 (JPSS-2) on November 18, 2017, and November 10, 2022, respectively. These satellites operate in a sun-synchronous orbit, providing global coverage twice daily. The VIIRS LST product is a key Environmental Data Record (EDR) for the JPSS mission, composed of Level 2 (L2) granule LST and Level 3 (L3) gridded LST.

The VIIRS LST product is generated from VIIRS bands M15 (10.76 um) and M16 (12.01 um) using the split-window technique. The LST EDR is available for global land coverage including coastline and inland water. The product is generated for every VIIRS granule with a spatial resolution of 750 m at nadir. A full description and format of the product can be found in the JPSS Land Surface Temperature External User’s Manual. The algorithm used to derive the LST product from VIIRS observations is described in detail in the VIIRS Land Surface Temperature ATBD.

The L2 VIIRS LST product was initially generated based on a surface type dependent LST algorithm (IDPS). This was replaced by the emissivity explicit LST algorithm, known as the Enterprise algorithm. The Enterprise L2 VIIRS LST reached provisional maturity in February 2019 and validated V1 maturity in November 2019. The L3 global gridded VIIRS LST was put into operation in May 2020.

The VIIRS LST data record is accessible through two primary distribution channels.

Operational data from December 18, 2024, to the present is hosted on Amazon Web Services.

• Level 2 Granule LST: Available for SNPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21.
• Level 3 Gridded LST: Available for SNPP (Day/Night), NOAA-20 (Day/Night), and NOAA-21 (Day/Night).

The complete historical record is archived at NOAA CLASS. Please select the appropriate data group based on the observation date:

• Level 2 Granule LST:
  • 08/10/2012 – 06/24/2020: Group JPSS VIIRS EDR (VIIRS_EDR) → “VIIRS Land Surface Temperature EDR (VLSTO)”
  • 06/06/2019 – Present: Group JPSS VIIRS Products (Granule) → “VIIRS Land Surface Temperature EDR”
• Level 3 Gridded LST:
  • Group JPSS VIIRS Products (Non-Granule) → “VIIRS Level 3 Daily Gridded LST” (Day or Night)

To ensure data quality, two primary validation approaches are employed for the VIIRS LST product: the Temperature-based (T-based) method and the Radiance-based (R-based) method (Wan and Li, 2008).

The LST portfolio has been extended to cover a broader range of applications beyond the established baseline. The All-weather VIIRS LST product was developed to address data gaps in cloudy conditions and is scheduled for integration in early 2027. Additionally, to improve spatial granularity, we introduced the I-band VIIRS LST, which leverages 375-meter resolution imagery bands. Experimental data for the I-band product is currently available, comprising two components: a regional dataset over Maryland and station-centered subsets of ground sites in the SURFRAD, ARM, BSRN, and NEON networks. Furthermore, the Enterprise LST algorithm has been adapted for the METimage sensor, paving the way for next-generation products.

For more detail about this EDR, please visit JPSS LST EDR .