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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 Aqua 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/myd10a1/versions/61">MODIS/Aqua 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  • Fractional Snow Cover has been replaced by Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) snow cover.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;
  • Aqua MODIS band 6 data have been restored to scientific quality using a Quantitative Image Restoration (QIR) technique. Aqua now uses the same snow detection algorithm as Terra;
  • 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
Aqua
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
2002-07-04 to 2023-02-25
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Concept ID
C3091255765-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Science Keywords
Albedo ,
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/Aqua 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/MYD10A1.006 Date Accessed: 2026-07-23

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
Enhancing SWAT's snow module for multivariate Elevation-dependent snow Bayat, Mehrad, Mojaradi, Barat, Alizadeh, Hosein Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
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
Controls over Fire Characteristics in Siberian Larch Forests Webb, Elizabeth E., Alexander, Heather D., Loranty, Michael M., Talucci, Anna C., Lichstein, Jeremy W. Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps, Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover
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
GRACE observes the natural and irrigation-induced regional Gafurov, Abror, Selyuzhenok, Valeria, Latinovic, Milena, Apel, Heiko, Mamaraimov, Adkham, Salokhiddinov, Abdulkhakim, Boergens, Eva, Guntner, Andreas Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover, Snow Cover
Synthesizing long-term satellite imagery consistent with climate data: Application to daily snow cover Zakeri, Fatemeh, Mariethoz, Gregoire Aerosol Backscatter, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Aerosol Radiance, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Cloud Condensation Nuclei, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Nitrate Particles, Organic Particles, Particulate Matter, Sulfate Particles, Trace Gases/Trace Species, Atmospheric Emitted Radiation, Emissivity, Optical Depth/Thickness, Radiative Flux, Reflectance, Transmittance, Atmospheric Stability, Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Condensation Nuclei, Cloud Droplet Concentration/Size, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Asymmetry, Cloud Ceiling, Cloud Frequency, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Cloud Emissivity, Cloud Radiative Forcing, Cloud Reflectance, Rain Storms, Atmospheric Ozone, Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
The apparent effect of orbital drift on time series of MODIS MOD10A1 albedo on the Greenland ice sheet Feng, Shunan, Wehrle, Adrien, Cook, Joseph Mitchell, Anesio, Alexandre Magno, Box, Jason Eric, Benning, Liane G., Tranter, Martyn Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Relationships between urban expansion and socioenvironmental indicators across multiple scales of watersheds: a case study among watersheds running through ... Zhou, Xinyu, Peng, Wenshuo, Guo, Yichen, Chen, Peiyuan, Ren, Qiang, Feng, Xingyun, Wu, Pengxin, Huang, Qingxu Population Size, Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover
Improving global hydrological simulations through bias-correction and multi-model blending Chevuturi, Amulya, Tanguy, Maliko, Facer-Childs, Katie, Martinez-de la Torre, Alberto, Sarkar, Sunita, Thober, Stephan, Samaniego, Luis, Rakovec, Oldrich, Kelbling, Matthias, Sutanudjaja, Edwin H., Wanders, Niko, Blyth, Eleanor Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover
National-scale imperviousness mapping and detection of urban land changes Xu, Shaojuan, Fina, Stefan Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover
Modeling of surface energy balance for Icelandic glaciers using remote-sensing albedo Gunnarsson, Andri, Gardarsson, Sigurdur M., Palsson, Finnur Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Observed and predicted trends in Icelandic snow conditions for the period 19302100 Eythorsson, Darri, Gardarsson, Sigurdur M., Gunnarsson, Andri, Sveinsson, Oli Gretar Blondal Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Surface Temperature, Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Surface Winds, Rain, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Snow-vegetation-atmosphere interactions in alpine tundra Pirk, Norbert, Aalstad, Kristoffer, Yilmaz, Yeliz A., Vatne, Astrid, Popp, Andrea L., Horvath, Peter, Bryn, Anders, Vollsnes, Ane Victoria, Westermann, Sebastian, Berntsen, Terje Koren, Stordal, Frode, Tallaksen, Lena Merete Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Estimating Regional Snow Line Elevation Using Public Webcam Images Portenier, Celine, Hasler, Martina, Wunderle, Stefan Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
HMRFS-TP: long-term daily gap-free snow cover products over the Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2021 based on Hidden Markov Random Field model Huang, Yan, Xu, Jiahui, Xu, Jingyi, Zhao, Yelei, Yu, Bailang, Liu, Hongxing, Wang, Shujie, Xu, Wanjia, Wu, Jianping, Zheng, Zhaojun Snow Cover, Albedo, Albedo
Permafrost thaw drives surface water decline across lake-rich regions of the Arctic Webb, Elizabeth E., Liljedahl, Anna K., Cordeiro, Jada A., Loranty, Michael M., Witharana, Chandi, Lichstein, Jeremy W. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Landscape Processes, Permafrost, Carbon, Periglacial Processes, Topography, Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Snow cover detection in mid-latitude mountainous and polar regions using nighttime light data Huang, Yan, Song, Zhichao, Yang, Haoxuan, Yu, Bailang, Liu, Hongxing, Che, Tao, Chen, Jin, Wu, Jianping, Shu, Song, Peng, Xiaobao, Zheng, Zhaojun, Xu, Jiahui Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
The value of satellite soil moisture and snow cover data for the transfer of hydrological model parameters to ungauged sites Tong, Rui, Parajka, Juraj, Szeles, Borbala, Greimeister-Pfeil, Isabella, Vreugdenhil, Mariette, Komma, Jurgen, Valent, Peter, Bloschl, Gunter Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Behind the scenes of streamflow model performance Bouaziz, Laurene J. E., Fenicia, Fabrizio, Thirel, Guillaume, de Boer-Euser, Tanja, Buitink, Joost, Brauer, Claudia C., De Niel, Jan, Dewals, Benjamin J., Drogue, Gilles, Grelier, Benjamin, Melsen, Lieke A., Moustakas, Sotirios, Nossent, Jiri, Pereira, Fernando, Sprokkereef, Eric, Stam, Jasper, Weerts, Albrecht H., Willems, Patrick, Savenije, Hubert H. G., Hrachowitz, Markus Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Estimating fractional snow cover from passive microwave brightness temperature data using MODIS snow cover product over North America Xiao, Xiongxin, Liang, Shunlin, He, Tao, Wu, Daiqiang, Pei, Congyuan, Gong, Jianya Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Evaluation of the MODIS (C6) Daily Albedo Products for Livingston Island, Antarctic Corbea-Perez, Alejandro, Calleja, Javier F., Recondo, Carmen, Fernandez, Susana Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Annual and inter-annual variability and trends of albedo of Icelandic glaciers Gunnarsson, Andri, Gardarsson, Sigurdur M., Palsson, Finnur, Johannesson, Tomas, Sveinsson, Oli G. B. Albedo, Anisotropy, Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
Global prevalence of non-perennial rivers and streams Messager, Mathis Loic, Lehner, Bernhard, Cockburn, Charlotte, Lamouroux, Nicolas, Pella, Herve, Snelder, Ton, Tockner, Klement, Trautmann, Tim, Watt, Caitlin, Datry, Thibault Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover
Global riverine flood riskhow do hydrogeomorphic floodplain maps compare to flood hazard maps? Lindersson, Sara, Brandimarte, Luigia, Mard, Johanna, Di Baldassarre, Giuliano Population Size, Population Density, Albedo, Albedo, Snow Cover
Stepwise prediction of runoff using proxy data in a small agricultural Szeles, Borbala, Parajka, Juraj, Hogan, Patrick, Silasari, Rasmiaditya, Pavlin, Lovrenc, Strauss, Peter, Bloschl, Gunter Albedo, Snow Cover, Albedo
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