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Description

The MCD43A3 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD43A3 Version 6.1 data product.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A3 Version 6 Albedo Model 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 which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name.

The MCD43A3 provides black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) and white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) data at local solar noon for MODIS bands 1 through 7 and the visible, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave bands. Along with the albedo layers are the simplified mandatory quality layers for each of the 10 bands. Essential quality information provided in the corresponding MCD43A2 data file should be consulted when using this product.

Users are also 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

  • 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 MCD43A3 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
C2763289469-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
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). MCD43A3 MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Daily L3 Global - 500m V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A3.006 Date Accessed: 2026-05-14

File Naming Convention

MCD43A3.A2002272.h23v15.006.2016132202442.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002272), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h23v15), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2016132202442), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Climate change dominates recent increase in streamflow in the Yellow River Basin Huang, Zhen, Tang, Zixuan, Tian, Jing, Zhang, Xuanze, Ma, Ning, Bai, Xinli, Zhang, Yongqiang Albedo, Anisotropy
Regional Land Surface Conditions Developed Using the High-Resolution Vinodhkumar, Buri, Osuri, Krishna Kishore, Dimri, A. P., Mukherjee, Sandipan, AlGhamdi, Sami G., Niyogi, Dev Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Satellite-Based Climate Effects of Photovoltaic Plants in China Li, Yingfang, Wang, Zhili, Lei, Yadong, Yu, Xiaochao, Chen, Feng, Wang, Ziyi, Liu, Lin, Che, Huizheng, Zhang, Xiaoye Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Satellite observation reveals wetland-induced local cooling moderated by regional climate gradients Gao, Xiaohong, Yan, Zhuoran, Bao, Lun, Li, Xuan, Gao, Li, Yu, Lingxue Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy
Seasonality and Albedo Dependence of Cloud Radiative Forcing in the Upper Colorado River Basin Rudisill, William, Feldman, Daniel, Cox, Christopher J., Riihimaki, Laura, Sedlar, Joseph Albedo, Anisotropy
Spatially generalizable bias correction of satellite solar radiation for Damiani, A., Ishizaki, N.N., Watanabe, T., Tamaki, Y., Cordero, R.R., Feron, S., Irie, H. Albedo, Anisotropy
Recent Widespread Deceleration of Global Surface Urban Heat Islands Zhan, Wenfeng, Li, Long, Chakraborty, T. C., Hu, Leiqiu, Wang, Dazhong, Liao, Weilin, Wang, Shasha, Du, Huilin, Huang, Fan, Wang, Chunli, Liu, Zihan, Li, Manchun Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Responses of surface and canopy heat islands to extreme temperatures: A synergistic analysis in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration Haiyi, Yang, Fei, Yang, Dewan, Ashraf Albedo, Anisotropy
Retrieval of Atmospheric XCH4 via XGBoost Method Based on Zhang, Wenhao, Li, Yao, Li, Bo, Li, Tong, Wang, Zhengyong, Yang, Xiufeng, Jin, Yongtao, Zhang, Lili Albedo, Anisotropy
Radiative forcing reduced by early twenty-first century increase in land albedo Hou, Zhengyang, Zhang, Liqiang, Peng, Jingjing, Forzieri, Giovanni, Jia, Aolin, Xiao, Zhiqiang, Qu, Ying, Lin, Jintai, Ji, Duoying, Zhu, Zidong, Yao, Xin, Peng, Shuwen, Zhao, Lanpu, Fan, Wenjie, Wu, Zhaocong, Geng, Hao, Wang, Qihao, Zhou, Chenghu, Liu, Suhong, Zhang, Liangpei Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Albedo, Snow Cover
Two Decades of FireInduced Albedo Change and Associated ShortWave Radiative Effect Over SubSaharan Africa Flegrova, Michaela, Brindley, Helen Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Two-stage downscaling and correction cascade learning framework for Li, Jie, Wei, Yingtao, Lin, Liupeng, Yuan, Qiangqiang, Shen, Huanfeng Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Albedo, Anisotropy
Study of the impact of climate change on tourism activities using remote sensing in the Carpathian region DEPUTAT, Mykola, TERLETSKA, Khrystyna, ZHUPNYK, Vasyl, HORISHEVSKYI, Pavlo, KASIYANCHUK, Dmytro Snow Cover, Albedo, Anisotropy
Tourism Pressure and Vegetation Dynamics in the Carpathian Mountains Kasiyanchuk, Dmytro Albedo, Anisotropy
The surface mass balance and near-surface climate of the Antarctic ice van Dalum, Christiaan T., van de Berg, Willem Jan, van den Broeke, Michiel R., van Tiggelen, Maurice Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
A global assessment of the effects of solar farms on albedo, vegetation, and land surface temperature using remote sensing Xu, Zhengjie, Li, Yan, Qin, Yingzuo, Bach, Eviatar Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy
Analysis of environmental variables and deforestation in the amazon using logistical regression models da Silva, Helder J. F., Goncalves, Weber A., Bezerra, Bergson G., Santos e Silva, Claudio M., de Oliveira, Cristiano P., Junior, Jorio B. Cabral, Rodrigues, Daniele T., Silva, Fabricio D. S. Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Vegetation Productivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Can Topographic Effects on Solar Radiation Be Ignored: Evidence From the Tibetan Plateau Xian, Yuyang, Wang, Tianxing, Leng, Wanchun, Letu, Husi, Shi, Jiancheng, Wang, Gaofeng, Yan, Xuewei, Yuan, Hongyin Albedo, Anisotropy
Atmospheric-river-induced foehn events drain glaciers on Novaya Zemlya Haacker, J., Wouters, B., Fettweis, X., Glissenaar, I. A., Box, J. E. Albedo, Anisotropy
Asymmetry in the Diurnal Variation of Land Surface Albedo and Its Han, Yuan, Wen, Jianguang, Xiao, Qing, You, Dongqin, Meng, Lei, Wu, Shengbiao, Hao, Dalei, Tang, Yong, Chen, Xi, Liu, Qinhuo, Zhao, Congcong Albedo, Anisotropy
Identification of surface urban heat versus cool islands for arid cities depends on the choice of urban and rural definitions Liu, Zehong, Ye, Richen, Yang, Qiquan, Hu, Ting, Liu, Yue, Chakraborty, TC, Liao, Zhenxuan Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Exploring Topography Downscaling Methods for Hyper-Resolution Land Chen, Sisi, Li, Lu, Wei, Zhongwang, Wei, Nan, Zhang, Yonggen, Zhang, Shupeng, Yuan, Hua, Shangguan, Wei, Zhang, Shulei, Li, Qingliang, Dai, Yongjiu Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Generation and evaluation of energy and water fluxes from the HOLAPS Garcia-Garcia, Almudena, Peng, Jian Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy, Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Surface Temperature, Humidity, Surface Winds, Rain, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount
Impacts of forest cover change on local temperature in Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations of China Liu, Qing, Shen, Wenjuan, Wang, Tongyu, He, Jiaying, Cao, Pingting, Sun, Tianyi, Zhang, Ying, Ye, Wenjing, Huang, Chengquan Albedo, Anisotropy, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance
Incorporating changes in land surface temperature improves BESS Lu, Xiaoman, Guan, Kaiyu, Jiang, Chongya, Gao, Lun, Wang, Sheng, Zhang, Jiaying Albedo, Anisotropy, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Reflectance
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