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Description

The MCD43A3 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD43A3 Version 6.1 data product.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A3 Version 6 Albedo Model dataset is produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS data at 500 meter (m) resolution. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the 16 day which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name.

The MCD43A3 provides black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) and white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) data at local solar noon for MODIS bands 1 through 7 and the visible, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave bands. Along with the albedo layers are the simplified mandatory quality layers for each of the 10 bands. Essential quality information provided in the corresponding MCD43A2 data file should be consulted when using this product.

Users are also urged to use the band specific quality flags to isolate the highest quality full inversion results for their own science applications as described in the User Guide.

Known Issues

  • The incorrect representation of the aerosol quantities (low average high) in the C6 MYD09 and MOD09 surface reflectance products may have impacted downstream products particularly over arid bright surfaces. This (and a few other issues) have been corrected for C6.1. Therefore users should avoid substantive use of the C6 MCD43 products and wait for the C6.1 products. In any event, users are always strongly encouraged to download and use the extensive QA data provided in MCD43A2, in addition to the briefer mandatory QAs provided as part of the MCD43A1, 3, and 4 products.
  • Corrections were implemented in Collection 6.1 reprocessing.
  • For complete information about the MCD43A3 known issues refer to the MODIS Land Quality Assessment website.

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6 BRDF/Albedo Parameter data products: (1) Observations are weighted to estimate the BRDF/Albedo on the ninth day of the 16-day period, (2) Products utilize the snow status weighted to the ninth day, (3) Enhanced quality at high latitudes achieved through the utilization of all available observations during the acquisition period, (4) Products utilize L2G-lite surface reflectance as input, and (5) In instances where there are insufficient high-quality reflectances, a database containing archetypal BRDF parameters is employed to supplement the observational data and perform a lower-quality magnitude inversion.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra ,
Aqua
Instruments
MODIS
Projects
TERRA ,
Aqua
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-16 to 2023-02-17
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMASS-B/SFE) ,
MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/MODAPS)
Concept ID
C2763289469-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Albedo ,
Anisotropy

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Schaaf, C., & Wang, Z. (2015). MCD43A3 MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Daily L3 Global - 500m V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A3.006 Date Accessed: 2026-06-10

File Naming Convention

MCD43A3.A2002272.h23v15.006.2016132202442.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002272), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h23v15), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2016132202442), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
A spatialtemporal seamless reconstruction method for high-resolution 16 m daily land surface albedo products Guo, Zhaotong, Wen, Jianguang, You, Dongqin, Tang, Yong, Piao, Sen, Liu, Qinhuo, Xiao, Qing Albedo, Anisotropy
Big data fusion-driven geospatial knowledge graph construction method for sustainable smart cities Duan, Yuxi, Liang, Maohan, Li, Yan, Gao, Ruobin, Chen, Jin, Chen, Zhong Shuo, Wang, Hua Albedo, Anisotropy
Land Surface Temperature Shows Negligible Difference Between Inside and Duan, Chunhui, Han, Cunbo, Hu, Wei, Liu, Jiawei, Ma, Yaoming Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Incorporating varying vegetation characteristics driven by Sebastian, Dawn Emil, Ghosh, Subimal Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy
Enhancing climate mitigation: photovoltaic deployment as a complement to afforestation Liu, Jia, Zhang, Yongguang Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Dynamic Lake Ice Conditions Shape Caribou WaterCrossing Behavior in the Arctic Liao, Qianru, Gurarie, Eliezer, Fagan, William F. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy
Estimating the Near-Surface Air Temperature Field Using Satellite-Based Remote Sensing of Land Surface Temperatures Frat Ors, Pelin, Mahdavi, Ardeshir Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance
Gradient-explicit assessment of surface urban heat island intensity in subtropical megacities Cheng, Zilang, Li, Qinshan, Zhou, Siyu, Bei, Qianyi, Lin, Zhuoyan, Lin, Hongzhang, Xie, Jing, Xue, Desheng Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Commodity-driven deforestation doubles local warming from tropical forest loss Smith, Callum, Baker, Jessica C A, Doggart, Nike H, Argles, Arthur P K, Robertson, Eddy, Chadwick, Robin, Adami, Marcos, Coelho, Caio A S, Spracklen, Dominick V Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Record-breaking glacier mass loss in Central Asia in 2025 Tricht, Lander Van, Kneib, Marin, Huss, Matthias, Zekollari, Harry, Azisov, Erlan, Barandun, Martina, Belekov, Sultan, Fiddes, Joel, Hoelzle, Martin, Kabutov, Khusrav, Kapitsa, Vassiliy, Kassatkin, Nikolay, Kenzhebaev, Ruslan, Makeshov, Adilet, Mattea, Enrico, Miles, Evan, Navruzshoev, Hofiz, Ponds, Magali, Popovnin, Victor, Rybak, Oleg, Saks, Tomas, Satylkanov, Rysbek, Umirzakov, Gulomjon, Xie, Ying, Wei, Yang, Farinotti, Daniel Albedo, Anisotropy
Revisiting the Urban Heat and Pollution Islands over the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, India Pandey, Pragya, Tyagi, Bhishma, Kumar, Pradeep, Sahu, Saroj Kumar, Sharma, Kuldeep Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Response of Vegetation Phenology to Hydrothermal Variables on the QTP Using EVI and MSAVI Zhao, Zhijian, Lin, Hui, Wang, Li, Huang, Min, Wu, Lei, Tang, Linling, Yang, Tao, Xiao, Xin Albedo, Anisotropy, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance
Systematic evaluation of atmospheric forcing, surface datasets, and mesh Li, Lingcheng, Bisht, Gautam, Xu, Donghui, Hao, Dalei, Liao, Chang, Feng, Dongyu, Tan, Zeli, Li, Hongyi, Shi, Mingjie, Zhou, Tian, Leung, L. Ruby Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Vegetation Productivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Vegetation greening reduces land surface temperature differences between Cui, Guishan, Ding, Nengyang, Liu, Duqi, Xu, Zhen Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
AI-Based Downscaling of MODIS LST Using SRDA-Net Model for High-Resolution Data Generation Ma, Hongxia, Mao, Kebiao, Yuan, Zijin, Xu, Longhao, Shi, Jiancheng, Guo, Zhonghua, Qin, Zhihao Reflectance, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
A Spatial Hybrid Model for Crop Yield Prediction in Western Australia Ibrahim, Muhammad, Singh, Balwinder, Pires, Rodrigo, Easton, Julia, Tareque, Hasnein Albedo, Anisotropy
A strategy to estimate daily shortwave downward radiation in rugged regions from a few satellite observations Xian, Yuyang, Wang, Tianxing, Du, Yihan, Yu, Pei, Letu, Husi Albedo, Anisotropy
Assessing midsummer snow-free land surface albedo variability across multiple Arctic sites using the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 product Gottuk, Jannika, Stuenzi, Simone M., Runge, Alexandra, Boike, Julia Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Brief communication: Improving lake ice modeling in ORCHIDEE-FLake model using MODIS albedo data Titus, Zacharie, Cuynet, Amelie, Salmon, Elodie, Ottle, Catherine Albedo, Anisotropy
Mature riparian alder forest acts as a strong and consistent carbon sink Krasnova, Alisa, Soosaar, Kaido, Rogozin, Svyatoslav, Krasnov, Dmitrii, Mander, Ulo Albedo, Anisotropy
Machine learning approaches for clear-sky Land Surface Albedo (LSA) retrieval using OCM-3 data over diverse Indian landscapes KURESHI, ALIYA M., PATHAK, VISHAL N., KARDANI, DISHA B., DAVE, JALPESH A., SHAH, DHIRAJ B., TURAKHIA, TEJAS P., GUJRATI, ASHWIN, PANDYA, MEHUL R., TRIVEDI, HIMANSHU J. Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Albedo, Anisotropy
Influence of initial soil organic carbon in grassland on the sensitivity of carbon changes to climate after grasslandtocropland conversion Dou, Pengpeng, Wang, Jie, Cai, Tianyu, Miao, Zhengzhou, Wang, Xu, Liang, Junyi, Li, Ping, Fan, Jiangwen, Tang, Shiming, Xiao, Xiangming, Guo, Lizhu, Huang, Jing, Gao, Qian, Chen, Chao, Liu, Kesi, Wang, Kun Albedo, Anisotropy
Improved global estimates of terrestrial evapotranspiration using the MODIS and VIIRS sensors Endsley, K. Arthur, Zhao, Maosheng, Kimball, John S., Albrethsen, Tyler, Devadiga, Sadashiva Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Reflectance, Topographical Relief Maps, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Impacts of Topography on Daily Mean Albedo Estimation Over Snow-free Rugged Terrain Han, Yuan, Wen, Jianguang, You, Dongqin, Xiao, Qing, Liu, Guokai, Tang, Yong, Piao, Sen, Zhao, Na, Liu, Qinhuo Albedo, Anisotropy, Radiative Forcing, Forests, Alpine/Tundra
Elevation Correction of Forest Biogeophysical Cooling Effect in China Bai, Tingting, Song, Yongze, Li, Tong, Zheng, Jinxiu, Zhu, Kai Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
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Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
Albedo_BSA_Band1 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band2 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band3 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band4 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band5 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band6 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band7 Black-Sky Albedo for Band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_nir Black-Sky Albedo for NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_shortwave Black-Sky Albedo for shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_vis Black-Sky Albedo for vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band1 White-Sky Albedo for Band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band2 White-Sky Albedo for Band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band3 White-Sky Albedo for Band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band4 White-Sky Albedo for Band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band5 White-Sky Albedo for Band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band6 White-Sky Albedo for Band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band7 White-Sky Albedo for Band 7 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_nir White-Sky Albedo for NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_shortwave White-Sky Albedo for shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_vis White-Sky Albedo for vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band1 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 1 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band2 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 2 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band3 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 3 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band4 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 4 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band5 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 5 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band6 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 6 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band7 BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for Band 7 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_nir BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for NIR broadband Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_shortwave BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for shortwave broadband Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_vis BRDF Albedo Mandatory Quality for vis broadband Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
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