Continuity between NASA MODIS Collection 6.1 and VIIRS Collection 2 land products

This paper provides a review and summary status of the research underway by the NASA Terra Aqua Suomi-NPP Land Discipline Team to provide continuity of global land data products from the NASA Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The two MODIS instruments on the NASA Earth Observing System Terra (morning overpass) and Aqua (afternoon overpass) platforms have provided more than twenty years of data. The peer-reviewed land products generated from MODIS are now being transitioned to production using VIIRS inputs, with the intention of providing dynamic continuity for the Aqua observations. As part of that process, the products from the two instruments are undergoing intercomparison and evaluation. These results are provided where available and show promising levels of agreement and accuracy in all cases. The paper also offers options for establishing continuity of Terra MODIS data products.