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Description

The Daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) 30 arc second, Global Gap-Filled, Snow-Free, (MCD43GF) Version 6.1 is derived from the 30 arc second Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) MCD43D Version 6.1 product suite, with additional processing to provide a gap-filled, snow-free product. The highest quality full inversion values were used for the temporal fitting effort and supplemented with lower quality pixels, spatial fitting, and spatial smoothing as needed. The status of each pixel can be found in the quality layer for each band. To generate a snow-free product, pixels with ephemeral snow were removed using the MCD43D41 snow flags. The underlying MCD43D utilizes a BRDF model derived from all available high quality cloud clear reflectance data over a 16 day moving window centered on and emphasizing the daily day of interest (the ninth day of each retrieval period as reflected in the Julian date in the filename). This 30 arc second BRDF model is then used to produce the Albedo and NBAR products (MCD43D). These BRDF model parameters are computed for MODIS spectral bands 1 through 7 (0.47 um, 0.55 um, 0.67 um, 0.86 um, 1.24 um, 1.64 um, 2.1 um), as well as the shortwave infrared band (0.3-5.0 um), visible band (0.3-0.7 um), and near-infrared (0.7-5.0 um) broad bands.

The MCD43GF product includes 67 layers containing black-sky albedo (BSA) at local solar noon, isotropic model parameter (ISO), volumetric model parameter (VOL), geometric model parameter (GEO), quality (QA), Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) at local solar noon, and white-sky albedo (WSA). Due to the large file size, each data layer is distributed as a separate HDF file. Users are encouraged to download the quality layers for each of the 10 bands to check quality assessment information before using the BRDF/Albedo data.

The MCD43 product is not recommended for solar zenith angles beyond 70 degrees.

Users are 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

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 BRDF/Albedo Gap-Filled Snow-Free data products: (1) Version 6.1 Level-1B (L1B) products have been improved by undergoing various calibration changes that include: changes to the response-versus-scan angle (RVS) approach that affects reflectance bands for Aqua and Terra MODIS, corrections to adjust for the optical crosstalk in Terra MODIS infrared (IR) bands, and corrections to the Terra MODIS forward look-up table (LUT) update for the period 2012 – 2017, and (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra ,
Aqua
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
1000 Meters x 1000 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Climate Modeling Grid (CMG)
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2000-03-03 to Present
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, Biospheric Information Systems Branch, Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/HBSL/BISB/MODAPS)
Concept ID
C3216719281-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
3287
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Albedo ,
Anisotropy ,
Reflectance

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. (2024). MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Gap-Filled Snow-Free Daily L3 Global 30ArcSec CMG V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43GF.061 Date Accessed: 2026-02-19

File Naming Convention

MCD43GF_bsa_Band1_365_2021_V061.hdf

MCD43GF has a file for each of the 67 Variables associated with the data product. The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43GF) followed by the Variable Name (bsa_Band1), the Day of Year (365), Year (2021), the Version of the data collection (061), and the Data Format (hdf). The granule name uses the Product Short Name (MCD43GF) followed by the Day of Year (365), Year (2021), the Version of the data collection (061).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
Contribution of changes in snow cover extent to shortwave radiation perturbations at the top of the atmosphere over the northern hemisphere during 2000–2019 Chen, X.
Toward operational validation systems for global satellite-based terrestrial essential climate variables Bayat, B.
Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Aura nitrogen dioxide standard product version 4.0 with improved surface and cloud treatments N. Lamsal, L.
Investigating impacts of drought and disturbance on evapotranspiration over a forested landscape in North Carolina, USA using high spatiotemporal resolution remotely sensed data Yang, Y.
Differences in snow-induced radiative forcing estimated from satellite and reanalysis surface albedo datasets over the Northern Hemisphere landmass for the overlapping period of 1982–2012 Xiaona, C.
A geometry-dependent surface Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity product for UV-Vis retrievals - Part 1—Evaluation over land surfaces using measurements from OMI at 466 nm Qin, W.
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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
Albedo_Map_0.3-0.7 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo visual broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-0.7 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-0.7 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-0.7 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-0.7 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo visual broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-5.0 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-5.0 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-5.0 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-5.0 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.3-5.0 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo near shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.7-5.0 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo NIR N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.7-5.0 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.7-5.0 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.7-5.0 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.7-5.0 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo near infrared broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.47 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.47 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.47 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.47 (NBAR) NBAR band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Albedo_Map_0.47 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.47 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.555 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.555 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.555 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.555 (NBAR) NBAR band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Albedo_Map_0.555 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.555 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.659 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.659 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.659 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.659 (NBAR) NBAR band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Albedo_Map_0.659 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.659 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.858 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.858 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.858 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.858 (NBAR) NBAR band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Albedo_Map_0.858 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_0.858 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.24 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.24 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.24 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.24 (NBAR) NBAR band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Albedo_Map_1.24 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.24 (WSA) White-Sky Albedo band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.64 (BSA) Black-Sky Albedo band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.64 (GEO) BRDF Albedo geometric weight for band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.64 (ISO) BRDF Albedo isotropic weight for band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
Albedo_Map_1.64 (NBAR) NBAR band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Albedo_Map_1.64 (VOL) BRDF Albedo volumetric weight for band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 1000 0.001
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