MODIS

MODIS, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, is a 36-band optical and thermal sensor flying on NASA’s Terra, launched December 1999, and Aqua, launched May 2002. It scans a 2330 km swath at 250 m, 500 m, and 1 km resolution, giving near-daily global coverage. For the ocean it delivers sea surface temperature from thermal infrared and ocean color, the chlorophyll-a and suspended-sediment retrieval from visible bands. MODIS also flags cloud, aerosol, and sea ice. Its two-decade record anchors climate-scale SST and productivity trends, with the VIIRS sensors on Suomi NPP and JPSS continuing the measurement.