Abstract: One of the very important applications of MODIS TIR data is to retrieve Land Surface Temperature(LST).As a key parameter in the physical processes of land-surface on a regional as well as global scale the LST is a good indicator of the energy balance at the Earth s surface and climate change.It is very useful to retrieve LST from satellite data especially for broad and rarely populated desert areas.Up to now,MODIS instrument onboard the EOS AM and PM platforms is the only one that can retrieve regional and global LST.Some researches showed that the accuracy specification for MODIS LST is 1° at 1 km resolution under clear-sky conditions.Validated by accurate ground-based measurements,the absolute accuracy specification for MODIS LST after calibration may possibly reach 0.5° for calm lake water and playa surfaces in dry atmospheric conditions.This paper introduced and analyzed the method of retrieving LST by using MODIS TIR channels data.

Key words: MODIS, land surface temperature