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Description

The MCD43A2 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD43A2 Version 6.1 data product.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A2 Version 6 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Quality 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 retrieval period which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name. MCD43A2 contains the quality information for the corresponding MCD43A3 Albedo and MCD43A4 Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) products.

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.

The MCD43A2 contains BRDF/Albedo band quality (inversion information) and days of valid observation within the 16-day period for MODIS bands 1 through 7 along with land water type, snow BRDF albedo, local solar noon, platform, and BRDF/Albedo uncertainty.

Known Issues

  • The metadata information within the HDF file of the Version 6 MCD43A2 gives incorrect SDS layer parameters for
    BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band1 through 7. The metadata states that the Valid Range is 0 to 32767 with a scaling factor of 0.001, which is incorrect. The Data Layers Characteristics section of this product page is accurate, the correct Valid Range is 0 to 65535 with no scaling factor.
  • 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 MCD43A2 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
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
C2763289466-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
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). MCD43A2 MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Quality Daily L3 Global - 500m V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A2.006 Date Accessed: 2026-05-14

File Naming Convention

MCD43A2.A2002272.h16v16.006.2016132202805.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A2) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002272), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h16v16), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2016132202805), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Generation of spatio-temporally continuous evapotranspiration and its components by coupling a two-source energy balance model and a deep neural network over the Heihe River Basin Cui, Yaokui, Song, Lisheng, Fan, Wenjie Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Evaluation of surface albedo over the Tibetan Plateau simulated by CMIP5 models using in-situ measurements and MODIS An, Yingying, Meng, Xianhong, Zhao, Lin, Li, Zhaoguo, Wang, Shaoying, Shang, Lunyu, Chen, Hao, Lyu, Shihua Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
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
Consequences of the 2019 greenland ice sheet melt episode on albedo Elmes, Arthur, Levy, Charlotte, Erb, Angela, Hall, Dorothy K., Scambos, Ted A., DiGirolamo, Nicolo, Schaaf, Crystal Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Potential of hotspot solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence for better tracking terrestrial photosynthesis Hao, Dalei, Asrar, Ghassem R., Zeng, Yelu, Yang, Xi, Li, Xing, Xiao, Jingfeng, Guan, Kaiyu, Wen, Jianguang, Xiao, Qing, Berry, Joseph A., Chen, Min Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Making Landsat 5, 7 and 8 reflectance consistent using MODIS nadir-BRDF adjusted reflectance as reference Che, Xianghong, Zhang, Hankui K., Liu, Jiping Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Land cover composition, climate, and topography drive land surface phenology in a recently burned landscape: An application of machine learning in phenological ... Wang, Jianmin, Zhang, Xiaoyang, Rodman, Kyle Reflectance, Anisotropy, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Albedo
Remote sensing of environmental risk factors for malaria in different McMahon, Andrea, Mihretie, Abere, Ahmed, Adem Agmas, Lake, Mastewal, Awoke, Worku, Wimberly, Michael Charles Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo
Retrieval and validation of forest background reflectivity from daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) bidirectional reflectance ... Pisek, Jan, Erb, Angela, Korhonen, Lauri, Biermann, Tobias, Carrara, Arnaud, Cremonese, Edoardo, Cuntz, Matthias, Fares, Silvano, Gerosa, Giacomo, Grunwald, Thomas, Hase, Niklas, Heliasz, Michal, Ibrom, Andreas, Knohl, Alexander, Kobler, Johannes, Kruijt, Bart, Lange, Holger, Leppanen, Leena, Limousin, Jean-Marc, Serrano, Francisco Ramon Lopez, Loustau, Denis, Lukes, Petr, Lundin, Lars, Marzuoli, Riccardo, Molder, Meelis, Montagnani, Leonardo, Neirynck, Johan, Peichl, Matthias, Rebmann, Corinna, Rubio, Eva, Santos-Reis, Margarida, Schaaf, Crystal, Schmidt, Marius, Simioni, Guillaume, Soudani, Kamel, Vincke, Caroline Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
The impact of climate warming on lake surface heat exchange and ice phenology of different types of lakes on the tibetan plateau Lang, Jiahe, Ma, Yaoming, Li, Zhaoguo, Su, Dongsheng Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
TimeScale Dependent Relations Between Earth Observation Based Proxies of Vegetation Productivity Linscheid, Nora, Mahecha, Miguel D., Rammig, Anja, Carvalhais, Nuno, Gans, Fabian, Nelson, Jacob A., Walther, Sophia, Weber, Ulrich, Reichstein, Markus Reflectance, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo
Prospects for Long-Term Agriculture in Southern Africa: Emergent Wei, Tiffany M., Barros, Ana P. Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Specific Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Wind Speed, Rain, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Cover, Snow Depth, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Emissivity
Development of land surface albedo algorithm for the GK-2A/AMI instrument Lee, Kyeong-Sang, Chung, Sung-Rae, Lee, Changsuk, Seo, Minji, Choi, Sungwon, Seong, Noh-Hun, Jin, Donghyun, Kang, Minseok, Yeom, Jong-Min, Roujean, Jean-Louis, Jung, Daeseong, Sim, Suyoung, Han, Kyung-Soo Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Continuous Daily Evapotranspiration with Optical Spaceborne Observations at Sub-Kilometre Spatial Resolution Barrios, Jose Miguel, Arboleda, Alirio, De Pue, Jan, Chormanski, Jaroslaw, Gellens-Meulenberghs, Francoise Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Parameterizing anisotropic reflectance of snow surfaces from airborne Carlsen, Tim, Birnbaum, Gerit, Ehrlich, Andre, Helm, Veit, Jakel, Evelyn, Schafer, Michael, Wendisch, Manfred Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Performance of GLASS and MODIS Satellite Albedo products in diagnosing Albedo variations during different time scales and special weather conditions in the Tibetan Plateau An, Yingying, Meng, Xianhong, Zhao, Lin, Li, Zhaoguo, Wang, Shaoying, Shang, Lunyu, Chen, Hao, Lyu, Shihua, Li, Guangwei, Ma, Yingsai Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Precipitation and minimum temperature are primary climatic controls of alpine grassland autumn phenology on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau An, Shuai, Chen, Xiaoqiu, Zhang, Xiaoyang, Lang, Weiguang, Ren, Shilong, Xu, Lin Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Land surface black-sky albedo at a fixed solar zenith angle and its relation to forest structure during peak growing season based on remote sensing data Alibakhshi, Sara, Crowther, Thomas W., Naimi, Babak Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Remote sensing phenological monitoring framework to characterize corn and soybean physiological growing stages Diao, Chunyuan Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo
Spatiotemporal variations of albedo in managed agricultural landscapes: inferences to global warming impacts (GWI) Sciusco, Pietro, Chen, Jiquan, Abraha, Michael, Lei, Cheyenne, Robertson, G. Philip, Lafortezza, Raffaele, Shirkey, Gabriela, Ouyang, Zutao, Zhang, Rong, John, Ranjeet Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
A new dense 18-year time series of surface water fraction estimates from MODIS for the Mediterranean region Li, Linlin, Skidmore, Andrew, Vrieling, Anton, Wang, Tiejun Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Total Surface Water, Albedo
An Empirical Assessment of the MODIS Land Cover Dynamics and TIMESAT Stanimirova, Radost, Cai, Zhanzhang, Melaas, Eli K., Gray, Josh M., Eklundh, Lars, Jonsson, Per, Friedl, Mark A. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Variations in surface albedo arising from flooding and desiccation cycles on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah Craft, Kevin M., Horel, John D. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Hierarchical mapping of annual global land cover 2001 to presentThe MODIS Collection 6 Land Cover product Sulla-Menashe, Damien, Gray, Josh M., Abercrombie, S. Parker, Friedl, Mark A. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Global 500 m clumping index product derived from MODIS BRDF data (2001-2017) Wei, Shanshan, Fang, Hongliang, Schaaf, Crystal B., He, Liming, Chen, Jing M. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
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