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Description

The MCD18A1 Version 6.2 is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Downward Shortwave Radiation (DSR) gridded Level 3 product produced daily at 1 kilometer pixel resolution with estimates of DSR every 3 hours. DSR is incident solar radiation over land surfaces in the shortwave spectrum (300-4,000 nanometers) and is an important variable in land-surface models that address a variety of scientific and application issues. The MCD18 products are based on a prototyping algorithm that uses multi-temporal signatures of MODIS data to derive surface reflectance and then calculate incident DSR using the look-up table (LUT) approach. The LUTs consider different types of loadings of aerosols and clouds at a variety of illumination/viewing geometry. Global DSR products are generated from MODIS and geostationary satellite data. Additional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are available in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).

Provided in the MOD18A1 product are layers for instantaneous DSR array for each individual MODIS overpass and 3-hour DSR array along with a View Zenith Angle layer.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.2 DSR data products: (1) MODIS shortwave infrared bands are included in the retrieval algorithm, which significantly reduces estimation uncertainties in cloud- and snow-covered pixels, (2) Inclusion of a new multispectral algorithm has been implemented to replace the blue band retrieval algorithm, and (3) An improved climatology of surface spectral and broadband albedo was produced and used in the retrieval algorithm.

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 Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-24 to Present
Temporal Resolution
3 Hour
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
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
C2486249220-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
2868853
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
Albedo ,
Anisotropy ,
Shortwave Radiation

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

Wang, D. (2024). MODIS/Terra+Aqua Surface Radiation Daily/3-Hour L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V062 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD18A1.062 Date Accessed: 2026-05-01

File Naming Convention

MCD18A1.A2025182.h00v08.062.2025204054932.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD18A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025182), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h00v08), the Version of the data collection (062), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025204054932), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT VALIDATION

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Hydrothermal thresholds govern elevational patterns of vegetation productivity and carbon use efficiency in an inland basin of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Yan, Zhengxing, Cao, Shengkui, Zhang, Ripei, Wang, Jianhui, Lei, Yizhen, Hou, Yaofang, Wang, Jiang, Ding, Chenshen, Pei, Ruoying Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY
Heat requirement, not warming, governs the urbanrural disparity in spring phenology advancement He, Can, Wang, Xiaoyue, Penuelas, Josep, Zhang, Xuezhen, Wu, Chaoyang Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Assessing the impact of aerosol optical depth on solar radiation Yoon, Ji Won, O, Sungmin, Kim, Hyunsu, Park, Seon Ki Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Impact of groundwater overextraction and agricultural irrigation on Yan, Heng, Xie, Zhenghui, Jia, Binghao, Li, Ruichao, Wang, Longhuan, Tian, Yuhang, You, Yanbin Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Numerical prediction of solar radiation in South Korea: assessment of WRF-Solar and WRF Yoon, Ji Won, Kim, Hyunsu, Jung, Hae Soo, Park, Seon Ki Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Downscaling Photosynthetically Active Radiation Based on Two-step Conversions with Consideration of Vegetation Forms Zhao, Yanhong, Jiang, Jinbao, Hou, Peng, Li, Kangning, Jiang, Yun, Qiao, Xiaojun Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Keeping it cool: a multi-case study of temperature, vegetation, and solar radiation in Ecuadorian schools Canizares, Matea, Romero-Alvarez, Daniel Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Comparative evaluation of thirteen satellite-derived surface solar radiation products over China He, Junmei, Hong, Liang, Hu, Bing, Tang, Wenjun Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Analysis of Deep Learning Architectures for Satellite Imaging-based Solar Irradiance Dense Time-Series Forecasting Hong, Ying-Yi, Domingo Lopez, Dylan Josh, Huang, Yan-Qi Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Modeling Diurnal Variation of Land Surface Albedo over Rugged Terrain Han, Yuan, Wen, Jianguang, You, Dongqin, Xiao, Qing, Hao, Dalei, Tang, Yong, Piao, Sen, Liu, Guokai, Liu, Qinhuo Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Evaluation and intercomparison of multiple satellite-derived and reanalysis downward shortwave radiation products in China Tong, Liu, He, Tao, Ma, Yichuan, Zhang, Xiaotong Geopotential Height, Altitude, Surface Temperature, Skin Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Dew Point Temperature, Air Temperature, Cloud Top Temperature, Atmospheric Winds, Surface Winds, U/V Wind Components, Upper Level Winds, U/V Wind Components, Vertical Wind Velocity/Speed, Atmospheric Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Cloud Top Pressure, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Specific Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Atmospheric Ozone, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Multi-decadal analysis of high-resolution albedo changes induced by urbanization over contrasted Chinese cities based on Landsat data Guo, Tianci, He, Tao, Liang, Shunlin, Roujean, Jean-Louis, Zhou, Yuyu, Huang, Xin Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Estimation of daily and instantaneous near-surface air temperature from MODIS data using machine learning methods in the Jingjinji area of China Wang, Chunling, Bi, Xu, Luan, Qingzu, Li, Zhanqing Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Estimation of land surface incident shortwave radiation from Geostationary Advanced Himawari Imager and Advanced Baseline Imager observations using an optimization method Zhang, Yi, Liang, Shunlin, He, Tao, Wang, Dongdong, Yu, Yunyue, Ma, Han Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Estimating global downward shortwave radiation from VIIRS data using a transfer-learning neural network Li, Ruohan, Wang, Dongdong, Liang, Shunlin, Jia, Aolin, Wang, Zhihao Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Shortwave Radiation
Forest fragmentation impacts the seasonality of Amazonian evergreen canopies Nunes, Matheus Henrique, Camargo, Jose Luis Campana, Vincent, Gregoire, Calders, Kim, Oliveira, Rafael S., Huete, Alfredo, Mendes de Moura, Yhasmin, Nelson, Bruce, Smith, Marielle N., Stark, Scott C., Maeda, Eduardo Eiji Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Spatiotemporal variations of evapotranspiration in Amazonia using the wavelet phase difference analysis Zhang, Juan, Feng, Ziyang, Niu, Jie, Melack, John M., Zhang, Jin, Qiu, Han, Hu, Bill X., Riley, William J. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Terrestrial Water Storage
A New index assessing the viability of par application projects used to validate PAR models Ferrera-Cobos, Francisco, Vindel, Jose M., Valenzuela, Rita X. Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
A pigment ratio index based on remotely sensed reflectance provides the potential for universal gross primary production estimation Wu, W, Epstein, H E, Guo, H, Li, X, Gong, C Reflectance, Reflectance, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Cloudy-sky land surface temperature from VIIRS and MODIS satellite data using a surface energy balance-based method Jia, Aolin, Ma, Han, Liang, Shunlin, Wang, Dongdong Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Combination of Models to Generate the First PAR Maps for Spain Ferrera-Cobos, Francisco, Vindel, Jose M., Wane, Ousmane, Navarro, Ana A., Zarzalejo, Luis F., Valenzuela, Rita X. Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Comprehensive assessment of five global daily downward shortwave radiation satellite products Li, Ruohan, Wang, Dongdong, Liang, Shunlin Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Crop Yield Estimation at Gram Panchayat Scale by Integrating Field, Weather and Satellite Data with Crop Simulation Models Milesi, Cristina, Kukunuri, Mallikarjun Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation
Validation and comparison of surface shortwave and longwave radiation products over the three poles Wang, Gaofeng, Wang, Tianxing, Xue, Huazhu Atmospheric Radiation, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Radiative Flux, Radiative Forcing, Surface Radiative Properties, Albedo, Emissivity, Cloud Properties, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Skin Temperature, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Skin Temperature, Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Surface Temperature, Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Surface Winds, Rain, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Reflectance, Anisotropy
Upscaling Net Ecosystem Exchange Over Heterogeneous Landscapes With Reitz, O., Graf, A., Schmidt, M., Ketzler, G., Leuchner, M. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
A new set of MODIS land products (MCD18)Downward shortwave radiation and photosynthetically active radiation Wang, Dongdong, Liang, Shunlin, Zhang, Yi, Gao, Xueyuan, Brown, Meredith G. L., Jia, Aolin Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
A review of the estimation of downward surface shortwave radiation based on satellite dataMethods, progress and problems Letu, Husi, Shi, Jiancheng, Li, Ming, Wang, Tianxing, Shang, Huazhe, Lei, Yonghui, Ji, Dabin, Wen, Jianguang, Yang, Kun, Chen, Liangfu Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Variability of the PAR/GHI Ratio and Ferrera-Cobos, Francisco, Vindel, Jose M., Valenzuela, Rita X., Gonzalez, Jose A. Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
Exploration of machine learning techniques in emulating a coupled soil canopy atmosphere radiative transfer model for multi-parameter estimation from satellite observations Shi, Hanyu, Xiao, Zhiqiang, Tian, Xiaodan Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
What is global photosynthesis? History, uncertainties and opportunities Ryu, Youngryel, Berry, Joseph A., Baldocchi, Dennis D. Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Shortwave Radiation
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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
Diffuse Instantaneous diffuse DSR at MODIS overpass W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
Direct Instantaneous direct DSR at MODIS overpass W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
DSR Instantaneous total DSR at MODIS overpass W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
DSR_Quality Quality flag N/A uint8 4 0 to 2 N/A N/A
GMT_0000_DSR Total DSR at GMT 00:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_0300_DSR Total DSR at GMT 03:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_0600_DSR Total DSR at GMT 06:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_0900_DSR Total DSR at GMT 09:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_1200_DSR Total DSR at GMT 12:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_1500_DSR Total DSR at GMT 15:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_1800_DSR Total DSR at GMT 18:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
GMT_2100_DSR Total DSR at GMT 21:00 W/m² float32 -1 0 to 1400 N/A N/A
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