“This practical guide introduces NASA satellite-derived surface temperature datasets that can aid local communities in assessing heat impacts at the state and local scales. Following a brief introduction to several sources of satellite data, reliability and appropriate uses of the data are addressed. For heat assessments, land use change and in situ data are also compared. Instructions on how to download data are also included. Information on how to analyze the data are available through other sources and depend upon preferred methodology…”

NASA Heat Product Guide March 2025. NASA Earth observations can aid local communities in assessing heat impacts at the state and county scale from land surface temperature (LST) derived from measurements of outgoing heat from the Earth’s surface at infrared wavelengths. Cloud-free data over multiple years provide a consistent view over an area that can be used to identify large scale patterns and long-term trends over a wide range of geographies. The purpose of this guide is to introduce available LST satellite datasets, background on the reliability and appropriate uses of these data, and instructions on how to download data. Guides on how to analyze the data are provided separately, depending upon preferred methodology, e.g. Prince George’s County Guide to Spatiotemporal Heat Analysis GIS Package (doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14582590). Training Resources – NASA and other government agencies offer training resources to help new satellite data users familiarize themselves with the data, their use, and limitations. Courses offered by the NASA Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET) program include the fundamentals of remote sensing and more advanced courses covering specific applications of many types of remote sensing data, such as Landsat and MODIS:

• • ARSET: https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/what-we-do/capacity-building/arset
  • Landsat training and other resources: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/outreach/resources/
  • MODIS overview: https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/data/get-started-data/collection-overview/missions/modis-overview/