Application of MODIS land surface temperature data: a systematic literature review and analysis

• Published in: Journal of applied remote sensing Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 041501
• Main Authors: Phan, Thanh Noi, Kappas, Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers 25.10.2018
• Subjects: land surface temperature; moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer land surface temperature applications; moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer land surface temperature products
• ISSN: 1931-3195; 1931-3195
• DOI: 10.1117/1.JRS.12.041501

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, which provides a very high temporal (four times per day) and spatial (1 km) resolution, has become one of the most important and widely used sensors for a broad range of applications. We analyze 529 articles from 159 journals in the Scopus database from 2009 to 2018 to understand the global and longitudinal trends of MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data applications. The results show that the publications of papers related to MODIS LST data have been steadily rising annually. They spanned 19 subject areas from environmental, agricultural, and biological science to social science and medicine, indicating a wide range of MODIS LST data applications. Among the 159 journals, Remote Sensing of Environment, Remote Sensing, and the International Journal of Remote Sensing published the most articles. The study also showed that urban heat island (UHI), air temperature estimation/mapping (Ta estimation), soil moisture, evapotranspiration estimation, and drought monitoring/estimation were the most popular applications of MODIS LST data. Furthermore, we discuss the strengths, limitations, and future direction of research using MODIS LST data.