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Description

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A3 Version 6.1 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.

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 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.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 BRDF/Albedo Model Parameters data products: (1) Version 6.1 Level-1B (L1B) products have been improved by undergoing various calibration changes that include: changes to the response-versus-scan angle (RVS) approach that affects reflectance bands for Aqua and Terra MODIS, corrections to adjust for the optical crosstalk in Terra MODIS infrared (IR) bands, and corrections to the Terra MODIS forward look-up table (LUT) update for the period 2012 – 2017, and (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra ,
Aqua
Instruments
MODIS
Projects
TERRA ,
Aqua
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 Present
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
C2278860820-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
2979495
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. (2021). MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Daily L3 Global - 500m V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A3.061 Date Accessed: 2026-08-23

File Naming Convention

MCD43A3.A2025212.h11v12.061.2025221032740.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025212), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h11v12), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025221032740), 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
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
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
Tourism Pressure and Vegetation Dynamics in the Carpathian Mountains Kasiyanchuk, Dmytro Albedo, Anisotropy
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 Brightness Temperature, Surface Soil Moisture, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Albedo, Anisotropy
Global non-uniformity in biophysical surface temperature responses to cropland expansion over non-forest vegetation Si, Menglin, Li, Zhao-Liang, Liu, Xiangyang, Li, Yitao, Leng, Pei, Tang, Bo-Hui, Tang, Ronglin, Duan, Si-Bo, Liu, Meng, Zhou, Chenghu Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy
Evaluation of the performance of multiple reanalysis forcing data in Xie, Yuxuan, Kong, Dongdong, Zhang, Yongqiang, Zhong, Yulong, Ma, Ning, Gong, Rouyan, Ci, Hui, Xiao, Mingzhong, Gu, Xihui Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Estimating GPP in China using different site-level datasets, vegetation classification and vegetation indices Xu, Jiahui, Chen, Tiexi, Chen, Xin, Zhou, Shengjie, Gu, Zhe, Li, Wenhui, Cui, Yingying, Wang, Shengzhen, Liu, Shuci Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
AI-Based Downscaling of MODIS LST Using SRDA-Net Model for High-Resolution Data Generation Ma, Hongxia, Mao, Kebiao, Yuan, Zijin, Xu, Longhao, Shi, Jiancheng, Guo, Zhonghua, Qin, Zhihao Reflectance, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
A Spatial Hybrid Model for Crop Yield Prediction in Western Australia Ibrahim, Muhammad, Singh, Balwinder, Pires, Rodrigo, Easton, Julia, Tareque, Hasnein Albedo, Anisotropy
A strategy to estimate daily shortwave downward radiation in rugged regions from a few satellite observations Xian, Yuyang, Wang, Tianxing, Du, Yihan, Yu, Pei, Letu, Husi Albedo, Anisotropy
Assessing midsummer snow-free land surface albedo variability across multiple Arctic sites using the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 product Gottuk, Jannika, Stuenzi, Simone M., Runge, Alexandra, Boike, Julia Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
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
Brief communication: Improving lake ice modeling in ORCHIDEE-FLake model using MODIS albedo data Titus, Zacharie, Cuynet, Amelie, Salmon, Elodie, Ottle, Catherine Albedo, Anisotropy
Elevation Correction of Forest Biogeophysical Cooling Effect in China Bai, Tingting, Song, Yongze, Li, Tong, Zheng, Jinxiu, Zhu, Kai Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
Divergent Seasonal Biophysical Effects Induced by the Three Gorges Li, Hongbin, Wang, Weiguang, Liu, Guoshuai, Castelli, Fabio, Forzieri, Giovanni Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy
Enhancing prediction of wildfire occurrence and behavior in Alaska using Ahajjam, A., Allgaier, M., Chance, R., Chukwuemeka, E., Putkonen, J., Pasch, T. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Improved global estimates of terrestrial evapotranspiration using the MODIS and VIIRS sensors Endsley, K. Arthur, Zhao, Maosheng, Kimball, John S., Albrethsen, Tyler, Devadiga, Sadashiva Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Reflectance, Topographical Relief Maps, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Influence of initial soil organic carbon in grassland on the sensitivity of carbon changes to climate after grasslandtocropland conversion Dou, Pengpeng, Wang, Jie, Cai, Tianyu, Miao, Zhengzhou, Wang, Xu, Liang, Junyi, Li, Ping, Fan, Jiangwen, Tang, Shiming, Xiao, Xiangming, Guo, Lizhu, Huang, Jing, Gao, Qian, Chen, Chao, Liu, Kesi, Wang, Kun Albedo, Anisotropy
Impacts of Topography on Daily Mean Albedo Estimation Over Snow-free Rugged Terrain Han, Yuan, Wen, Jianguang, You, Dongqin, Xiao, Qing, Liu, Guokai, Tang, Yong, Piao, Sen, Zhao, Na, Liu, Qinhuo Albedo, Anisotropy, Radiative Forcing, Forests, Alpine/Tundra
Mature riparian alder forest acts as a strong and consistent carbon sink Krasnova, Alisa, Soosaar, Kaido, Rogozin, Svyatoslav, Krasnov, Dmitrii, Mander, Ulo Albedo, Anisotropy
Machine learning approaches for clear-sky Land Surface Albedo (LSA) retrieval using OCM-3 data over diverse Indian landscapes KURESHI, ALIYA M., PATHAK, VISHAL N., KARDANI, DISHA B., DAVE, JALPESH A., SHAH, DHIRAJ B., TURAKHIA, TEJAS P., GUJRATI, ASHWIN, PANDYA, MEHUL R., TRIVEDI, HIMANSHU J. Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Albedo, Anisotropy
Pervasive but biome-dependent relationship between fragmentation and resilience in forests Su, Yongxian, Zhang, Chaoqun, Cescatti, Alessandro, Yu, Kailiang, Ciais, Philippe, Smith, Taylor, Shang, Jiali, Carnicer, Jofre, Liu, Jane, Chen, Jing Ming, Green, Julia K., Wu, Jianping, Ponce-Campos, Guillermo E., Zhang, Yongguang, Zuo, Zhiyan, Liao, Jinbao, Wu, Jianping, Lafortezza, Raffaele, Yan, Kai, Yang, Xueqin, Liu, Liyang, Ren, Jiashun, Yuan, Wenping, Chen, Xiuzhi, Wu, Chaoyang, Zhou, Weiqi Albedo, Anisotropy, Forest Management, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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
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