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Description

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43C3 Version 6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Albedo dataset is produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS data in a 0.05 degree (5,600 meters at the equator) Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the retrieval period which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name. This CMG product covers the entire globe for use in climate simulation models.

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.

MCD43C3 provides black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) and white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) at local solar noon. Black-sky albedo and white-sky albedo values are available as a separate layer for MODIS spectral bands 1 through 7 as well as the visible, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave bands. Along with the 20 albedo layers are ancillary layers for quality, local solar noon, percent finer resolution inputs, snow cover, and uncertainty.

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
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
5600 Meters x 5600 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Climate Modeling Grid (CMG)
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
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
C2532068039-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
9571
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 Albedo Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43C3.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-22

File Naming Convention

MCD43C3.A2025211.061.2025220080926.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43C3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025211), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025220080926), 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
The observed near-surface thermal stability from 2002 to 2024 over Yu, Kexing, Wang, Kaicun Albedo, Anisotropy, Snow Cover
Widespread biophysical cooling effects due to post-fire greening Xi, Huipeng, Wang, Qunming, Xiao, Yuelong, Guo, Ru, Tong, Xiaohua, Atkinson, Peter M. Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Burned Area, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Evaluating biogeophysical sensitivities to idealized deforestation in Mileva, Nikolina, Pongratz, Julia, Arora, Vivek K., Ito, Akihiko, Luyssaert, Sebastiaan, McDermid, Sonali S., Miller, Paul A., Peano, Daniele, Seferian, Roland, Zhang, Yanwu, Buermann, Wolfgang Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Impact of topography and meteorological forcing on snow simulation in Wang, Libo, Mudryk, Lawrence, Melton, Joe R., Mortimer, Colleen, Cole, Jason, Meyer, Gesa, Bartlett, Paul, Lalande, Mickael Albedo, Anisotropy, Albedo, Snow Depth, Snow Water Equivalent, Snow Cover
A Flexible Snow Model (FSM 2.1. 1) including a forest canopy Essery, Richard, Mazzotti, Giulia, Barr, Sarah, Jonas, Tobias, Quaife, Tristan, Rutter, Nick Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Development of Level 2 aerosol and surface products from cross-track scanning polarimeter POSP on board the GF-5 (02) satellite Chen, Cheng, Lei, Xuefeng, Liu, Zhenhai, Gu, Haorang, Dubovik, Oleg, Litvinov, Pavel, Fuertes, David, Cao, Yujia, Yu, Haixiao, Xiang, Guangfeng, Meng, Binghuan, Qiu, Zhenwei, Sun, Xiaobing, Hong, Jin, Li, Zhengqiang Albedo, Anisotropy
Distinct trajectory of post-fire GPP across forest types in Siberia Lee, Ahreum, Jeong, Sujong, Park, Chang-Eui, Kim, Jin-Soo Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Burned Area, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Emissivity
Enhanced MODIS-derived ice physical properties within the Common Land Model (CoLM) revealing bare-icesnow albedo feedback over Greenland Guo, Shuyang, Dai, Yongjiu, Yuan, Hua, Liang, Hongbin Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Snow Cover
Machine LearningBased Estimation of ClearSky Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing Using Multisensor Satellite Observations Zhang, Lu, Li, Jing, Dong, Yueming, Ying, Tong, Zhang, Zhenyu, Liu, Guanyu, Zhang, Chongzhao Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, 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, Albedo, Anisotropy, 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, Optical Depth/Thickness, Radiative Flux, Reflectance
Benchmarking and evaluating the NASA Land Information System (version He, Cenlin, Lin, Tzu-Shun, Mocko, David M., Abolafia-Rosenzweig, Ronnie, Wegiel, Jerry W., Kumar, Sujay V. Albedo, Anisotropy
Assessing the Interaction Between Agricultural, Hydrological, and Meteorological Droughts in the Tigris River Basin Valizadeh Kamran, Khalil, Dhiab, Ayat, Abdulkareem, Hala Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy
Latitudinal and Seasonal Asymmetry in Land Surface Temperature Responses Cheng, Yongming, An, Qiang, Liu, Liu, Zhang, Yuxiang, Li, Hao, Liu, Xingcai, Huang, Guanhua Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, 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, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Linear Meta-Model optimization for regional climate models (LiMMo Petrov, Sergei, Will, Andreas, Geyer, Beate Albedo, Anisotropy
The Construction of 20-year Daily Surface Albedo Along PANDA Transect Jia, Jiajia, Zeng, Zhaoliang, Tian, Biao, Chen, Siyu, Chen, Lijing, Wang, Yaqiang, Wang, Xin, Ding, Minghu Albedo, Anisotropy
Synergetic retrieval from multi-mission spaceborne measurements for enhanced aerosol and surface characterization Litvinov, Pavel, Chen, Cheng, Dubovik, Oleg, Zhai, Siyao, Matar, Christian, Li, Chong, Lopatin, Anton, Fuertes, David, Lapyonok, Tatyana, Bindreiter, Lukas, Dornacher, Manuel, Lehner, Arthur, Dandocsi, Alexandru, Gasbarra, Daniele, Retscher, Christian Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Deciphering the Biophysical Impact of Permafrost Greening on Summer Wang, Jian, Liu, Desheng Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Evaluation of the coupling of EMACv2.55 to the land surface and Martin, Anna, Gayler, Veronika, Steil, Benedikt, Klingmuller, Klaus, Jockel, Patrick, Tost, Holger, Lelieveld, Jos, Pozzer, Andrea Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Albedo, Anisotropy, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Diverse responses of surface biogeophysical parameters to accelerated development and senescence of vegetation on the Mongolian Plateau Bai, Yu, Liu, Menghang, Zhou, Junxiong, Guo, Qun, Wu, Genan, Li, Shenggong Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature
Clouds dissipate quickly during solar eclipses as the land surface cools Trees, Victor J. H., de Roode, Stephan R., Wiltink, Job I., Meirink, Jan Fokke, Wang, Ping, Stammes, Piet, Siebesma, A. Pier Albedo, Anisotropy
New Features and Enhancements in Community Land Model (CLM5) Snow Albedo He, Cenlin, Flanner, Mark, Lawrence, David M., Gu, Yu Albedo, Anisotropy, Snow Cover
Offline Correction of CMIP6 HighResMIP Simulated Surface Solar Gu, Chunlei, Huang, Anning, Li, Xin, Wu, Yang Albedo, Anisotropy
An Independent Evaluation of GHGSat Methane Emissions: Performance McLinden, C. A., Griffin, Debora, Davis, Zoe, Hempel, Colin, Smith, James, Sioris, Christopher, Nassar, Ray, Moeini, Omid, LegaultOuellet, Eric, Malo, Alain Albedo, Anisotropy
Examining the role of biophysical feedbacks on simulated temperature extremes during the Tinderbox Drought and Black Summer bushfires in southeast Australia Mu, Mengyuan, Sabot, Manon E.B., Ukkola, Anna M., Rifai, Sami W., De Kauwe, Martin G., Hobeichi, Sanaa, Pitman, Andy J. Albedo, Anisotropy, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Extended aerosol and surface characterization from S5P/TROPOMI with Chen, Cheng, Litvinov, Pavel, Dubovik, Oleg, Bindreiter, Lukas, Matar, Christian, Fuertes, David, Lopatin, Anton, Lapyonok, Tatyana, Lanzinger, Verena, Hangler, Andreas, Aspetsberger, Michael, de Graaf, Martin, Tilstra, Lieuwe Gijsbert, Stammes, Piet, Dandocsi, Alexandru, Gasbarra, Daniele, Fluck, Elody, Zehner, Claus, Retscher, Christian Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Extended aerosol and surface characterization from S5P/TROPOMI with Litvinov, Pavel, Chen, Cheng, Dubovik, Oleg, Bindreiter, Lukas, Matar, Christian, Fuertes, David, Lopatin, Anton, Lapyonok, Tatyana, Lanzinger, Verena, Hangler, Andreas, Aspetsberger, Michael, de Graaf, Martin, Tilstra, Lieuwe Gijsbert, Stammes, Piet, Dandocsi, Alexandru, Gasbarra, Daniele, Fluck, Elody, Zehner, Claus, Retscher, Christian Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
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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
Albedo_BSA_Band1 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band2 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band3 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band4 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band5 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band6 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_Band7 Black-sky albedo for MODIS land band 7 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_nir Black-sky albedo for MODIS NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_shortwave Black-sky albedo for MODIS shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_BSA_vis Black-sky albedo for MODIS vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_Quality Global albedo quality N/A uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band1 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band2 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band3 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band4 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 4 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band5 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 5 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band6 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 6 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_Band7 White-sky albedo for MODIS land band 7 N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_nir White-sky albedo for MODIS NIR broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_shortwave White-sky albedo for MODIS shortwave broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Albedo_WSA_vis White-sky albedo for MODIS vis broadband N/A int16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Uncertainty BRDF inversion information N/A uint16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
Local_Solar_Noon Local solar noon zenith angle Degree uint8 255 0 to 90 N/A N/A
Percent_Inputs Processed finer resolution data that contributed to this CMG pixel Percent uint8 255 0 to 100 N/A N/A
Percent_Snow Underlying data flagged as snow Percent uint8 255 0 to 100 N/A N/A
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