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Description

This data set contains daily, gridded snow cover and albedo derived from radiance data acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite. Snow cover is identified using the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and a series of screens designed to alleviate errors and flag uncertain snow cover detections.

As of August 2023, this data set is retired and no longer available for download. We recommend using <a href="https://nsidc.org/data/mod10a1/versions/61">MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 500m SIN Grid, Version 61</a> as an alternative.

Version Description

Changes for Version 6 include:
  • Fractional Snow Cover has been replaced by Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) snow cover. Fractional Snow Cover is no longer calculated;
  • The binary Snow-Covered Area (SCA) map has been discontinued;
  • Existing data screens designed to reduce snow detection errors have been revised and several new screens have been added;
  • Data screen results, including snow detection reversals and detections with increased uncertainty, are provided in a new QA bit flag;
  • Basic pixel-level QA uses new criteria to indicate the overall quality of algorithm result;
  • Pointers are provided to locate the swaths used for each day's observation.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-24 to 2023-02-17
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Concept ID
C3024375130-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Science Keywords
Albedo ,
Snow Cover

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

Hall, D. K., & Riggs, G. A. (2015). MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 500m SIN Grid, Version 6 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD10A1.006 Date Accessed: 2026-07-24

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
Enhancing Snow Cover Monitoring: A Modified Cloud Removal Methodology for MODIS Data in the Tapovan Vishnugad Basin Vijayalekshmi, Gopika, Goel, N. K., Arora, Manohar Albedo, Snow Cover
PIXAL: a physics-inspired explainable machine learning architecture for Greenland ice albedo modeling Antwerpen, Raf, Tedesco, Marco, Gentine, Pierre, van de Berg, Willem Jan, Fettweis, Xavier Reflectance, Albedo, Snow Cover
Runoff from Greenland's firn areawhy do MODIS, RCMs and a firn model disagree? Machguth, Horst, Tedstone, Andrew, Kuipers Munneke, Peter, Brils, Max, Noel, Brice, Clerx, Nicole, Jullien, Nicolas, Fettweis, Xavier, van den Broeke, Michiel Ice Velocity, Reflectance, Albedo, Snow Cover
Assessing groundwater storage response to snow cover dynamics in large Moroccan river basins over the last decades using remote sensing data Bousbaa, Mostafa, Boudhar, Abdelghani, Hssaisoune, Mohammed, Elyoussfi, Haytam, Karaoui, Ismail, Bargam, Bouchra, Nifa, Karima, Hadri, Abdessamad, Acharki, Siham, Vivone, Gemine, Kinnard, Christophe Albedo, Snow Cover
A remote sensing approach for measuring climatic change effects on snow cover dynamics Parizia, Francesco, De Petris, Samuele, Perotti, Luigi, Giardino, Marco, Borgogno-Mondino, Enrico Albedo, Snow Cover
Assessment of Drought Impacts on Remotely Sensed Seasonal Snow Depletion Patterning: A Case Study Over the Boise River Basin, Idaho Woodruff, Craig D., Qualls, Russell J., Clark, Patrick E. Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Albedo, Snow Cover
Informing Snow Measurement Site Selection with Remote Sensing and Local Ecological Knowledge: A Case Study in Oregon Steele, Hannah, Emard, Kelsey, Raleigh, Mark S. Albedo, Snow Cover
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, Albedo, Snow Cover
Spatiotemporal mapping of invasive yellow sweetclover blooms using Sentinel-2 and high-resolution drone imagery Saraf, Sakshi, John, Ranjeet, Kolluru, Venkatesh, Jain, Khushboo, Henebry, Geoffrey M., Chen, Jiquan, Lafortezza, Raffaele Precipitation Amount, Maximum/Minimum Temperature, Shortwave Radiation, Snow Water Equivalent, Vapor Pressure, Albedo, Snow Cover
Benchmarking and evaluating the NASA Land Information System (version He, Cenlin, Lin, Tzu-Shun, Mocko, David M., Abolafia-Rosenzweig, Ronnie, Wegiel, Jerry W., Kumar, Sujay V. Albedo, Anisotropy, Brightness Temperature, Surface Soil Moisture, Albedo, Snow Cover
Capability Analysis of Earth Observation Data for Integrated Emergency Management Wolf, Kristina, Mills, Jon P., Cormier, Luis, Dunn, Ruth, Fairless, Olivia, Falaye, Adewale, Gordon, Stuart, Jayamanne, Oshadee, Morris-Wiltshire, Carrow, Myall, Eleanor, Salgado-Castillo, Francisco, Shukla, Yashvini, Taylor, Luke, Robson, Ellen, Donoghue, Daniel, Dawson, Richard J., Lewis, Elizabeth, Reaney, Sim M., Scott, Elaine, Freedman, Joel, Marshall, Stuart, Walker, Patrick, Hinds, Helen Albedo, Snow Cover
Enhancing SWAT's snow module for multivariate Elevation-dependent snow Bayat, Mehrad, Mojaradi, Barat, Alizadeh, Hosein Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Representing subgrid precipitation variability in snowpack and hydrological modeling: Is adding complexity worth it? Givovich, Francisco, Mendoza, Pablo A., Vasquez, Nicolas A., Murillo, Octavio, Munoz-Castro, Eduardo, Ayala, Alvaro Albedo, Snow Cover
Anthropogenic and climatic drivers of the 2022 mega-flood in Pakistan Arshad, Arfan, Mirchi, Ali, He, Cenlin, Shah, Azeem Ali, AghaKouchak, Amir Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Snow Cover
Permafrost distribution modeling using remote sensing and machine learning technique in the Garhwal Himalaya, India Pandey, Arvind Chandra, Islam, Anikul, Dwivedi, Chandra Shekhar, Parida, Bikash Ranjan, Maslakov, Alexey, Koroleva, Ekaterina Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Snow Cover
Spatially explicit modeling of road icing susceptibility using GIS and a multi-criteria decision approach: A case study of Gumushane city (Turkiye) Isk, Fatih, Kanylmaz, Rabia, Caglak, Savas, Eraslan, Selim, Zeybek, Halil Ibrahim Albedo, Snow Cover
Spatiotemporal variation of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau based on the MODIS fractional snow cover product: 20002023 Zheng, Yifei, Jiang, Lingmei, Pan, Fangbo, Zhang, Cheng, Pan, Jinmei, Shi, Jiancheng Albedo, Snow Cover
The Simulated Role of the Antecedent Snow and Soil Moisture Conditions on the 1316 March 2021 Dust Storm in East Asia Letcher, Theodore, LeGrand, Sandra, Sparrow, Kent, Eylander, John Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Surface Soil Moisture, Albedo, Snow Cover
A local indicator of stratified power Hu, Jiao, Song, Yongze, Zhang, Tingbin Albedo, Snow Cover
Bedrock Controls on Water and Energy Partitioning Ehlert, Robert S., Hahm, W. Jesse, Dralle, David N., Rempe, Daniella M., Allen, Diana M. Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Carbon sequestration potential of tree planting in China Yao, Ling, Liu, Tang, Qin, Jun, Jiang, Hou, Yang, Lin, Smith, Pete, Chen, Xi, Zhou, Chenghu, Piao, Shilong Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Albedo, Snow Cover
Dominant role of grazing and snow cover variability on vegetation shifts in the drylands of Kazakhstan Kolluru, Venkatesh, John, Ranjeet, Chen, Jiquan, Konkathi, Preethi, Kolluru, Srinivas, Saraf, Sakshi, Henebry, Geoffrey M., Xiao, Jingfeng, Jain, Khushboo, Kussainova, Maira Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Snow Cover, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Potential of snow data to improve the consistency and robustness of a semi-distributed hydrological model using the SAFRAN input dataset Ruelland, Denis Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo, Snow Cover
Predatorprey space use and landscape features influence movement behaviors in a large-mammal community Bassing, Sarah B., Satterfield, Lauren, Ganz, Taylor R., DeVivo, Melia, Kertson, Brian N., Roussin, Trent, Wirsing, Aaron J., Gardner, Beth Albedo, Snow Cover
Reducing Resolution Dependency of Dust Emission Modeling Using Chappell, Adrian, Hennen, Mark, Schepanski, Kerstin, Dhital, Saroj, Tong, Daniel Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Snow Cover
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