Skip to main content

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
9569
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: 2026-05-19

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
Fire regime impacts on postfire diurnal land surface temperature change over North American boreal forest Zhao, Jie, Wang, Liang, Hou, Xin, Li, Guangyao, Tian, Qi, Chan, Eme, Ciais, Philippe, Yu, Qiang, Yue, Chao Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Burned Area
8-day and daily maximum and minimum air temperature estimation via machine learning method on a climate zone to global scale Zeng, Linglin, Hu, Yuchao, Wang, Rui, Zhang, Xiang, Peng, Guozhang, Huang, Zhenyu, Zhou, Guoqing, Xiang, Daxiang, Meng, Ran, Wu, Weixiong, Hu, Shun Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM)
Direct radiative forcing of biomass burning aerosols from the extensive Australian wildfires in 2019-2020 Chang, Dong Yeong, Yoon, Jongmin, Lelieveld, Johannes, Park, Seon Ki, Yum, Seong Soo, Kim, Jhoon, Jeong, Sujong Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Albedo, Anisotropy, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES
Assessing albedo dynamics and its environmental controls of grasslands over the Tibetan Plateau Zheng, Lei, Qi, Youcun, Qin, Zhangcai, Xu, Xiaofeng, Dong, Jinwei Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Plant Phenology, Plant Phenological Changes
CLASSIC v1. 0: the open-source community successor to the Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) and the Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model ... Seiler, Christian, Melton, Joe R., Arora, Vivek K., Wang, Libo Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Reflectance, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Burned Area, Albedo, Anisotropy
Estimation of aerosol radiative effects on terrestrial gross primary productivity and water use efficiency using process-based model and satellite data Zhang, Zhaoyang, Liu, Qiaozhen, Ruan, Yangchun, Tan, Yunhui Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Albedo, Anisotropy
Multivariable evaluation of land surface processes in forced and coupled modes reveals new error sources to the simulated water cycle in the IPSL (Institute Pierre Simon Laplace) climate model Mizuochi, Hiroki, Ducharne, Agnes, Cheruy, Frederique, Ghattas, Josefine, Al-Yaari, Amen, Wigneron, Jean-Pierre, Bastrikov, Vladislav, Peylin, Philippe, Maignan, Fabienne, Vuichard, Nicolas Albedo, Anisotropy
Meteorological controls on daily variations of nighttime surface urban heat islands Lai, Jiameng, Zhan, Wenfeng, Voogt, James, Quan, Jinling, Huang, Fan, Zhou, Ji, Bechtel, Benjamin, Hu, Leiqiu, Wang, Kaicun, Cao, Chang, Lee, Xuhui Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy
Major surface melting over the Ross Ice Shelf part I: Foehn effect Zou, Xun, Bromwich, David H., Montenegro, Alvaro, Wang, ShengHung, Bai, Lesheng Albedo, Anisotropy
Major surface melting over the Ross Ice Shelf part II: Surface energy balance Zou, Xun, Bromwich, David H., Montenegro, Alvaro, Wang, ShengHung, Bai, Lesheng Albedo, Anisotropy
Aerodynamic resistance and Bowen ratio explain the biophysical effects of forest cover on understory air and soil temperatures at the global scale Su, Yongxian, Zhang, Chaoqun, Chen, Xiuzhi, Liu, Liyang, Ciais, Philippe, Peng, Jian, Wu, Shengbiao, Wu, Jianping, Shang, Jiali, Wang, Yingping, Yuan, Wenping, Yang, Yuanzhi, Wu, Zhifeng, Lafortezza, Raffaele Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Sea Ice Concentration, Snow Cover
Bi-hemispherical Canopy Reflectance Model with Surface Heterogeneity Effects for the Estimation of LAI and fAPAR from MODIS White-Sky Spectral Albedo Data Verhoef, Wouter Albedo, Anisotropy
Temperature patterns along an arid coastline experiencing extreme and rapid urbanization, case study: Dubai Elhacham, Emily, Alpert, Pinhas Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature
Temporal and spatial heterogeneity of recent lake surface water temperature trends in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Yao, Tianci, Lu, Hongwei, Yu, Qing, Feng, Wei, Xue, Yuxuan, Feng, Sansan, Xiao, Shuai Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Statistical estimation of next-day nighttime surface urban heat islands Lai, Jiameng, Zhan, Wenfeng, Quan, Jinling, Bechtel, Benjamin, Wang, Kaicun, Zhou, Ji, Huang, Fan, Chakraborty, Tirthankar, Liu, Zihan, Lee, Xuhui Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Satellite observed cooling effects from re-vegetation on the Mongolian Plateau Jiang, Hou, Lu, Ning, Zhang, Xingxing, Yao, Ling, Bai, Yongqing Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Albedo, Anisotropy, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Revisiting daily MODIS evapotranspiration algorithm using flux tower measurements in China Huang, Lei, Steenhuis, Tammo S., Luo, Yong, Tang, Qiuhong, Tang, Ronglin, Zheng, Junqing, Shi, Wen, Qiao, Chen Reflectance, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Sensitivity of Convection-Permitting Regional Climate Simulations to Changes in Land Cover Input Data: Role of Land Surface Characteristics for ... Tolle, Merja H., Churiulin, Evgenii Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Albedo, Anisotropy
Perturbation of urbanization to Earth's surface energy balance Shen, Pengke, Zhao, Shuqing, Ma, Yongjing Urban Lands, Land Use/Land Cover, Urbanization/Urban Sprawl, Infrastructure, Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Quantifying diurnal and seasonal variation of surface urban heat island intensity and its associated determinants across different climatic zones over Indian cities Mohammad, Pir, Goswami, Ajanta Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Impact of rainfall extremes on energy exchange and surface temperature anomalies across biomes in the Horn of Africa Abera, Temesgen Alemayehu, Heiskanen, Janne, Pellikka, Petri K.E., Maeda, Eduardo Eiji Total Surface Precipitation Rate, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy
Influences of leaf area index and albedo on estimating energy fluxes with HOLAPS framework Peng, Jian, Kharbouche, Said, Muller, Jan-Peter, Danne, Olaf, Blessing, Simon, Giering, Ralf, Gobron, Nadine, Ludwig, Ralf, Muller, Benjamin, Leng, Guoyong, Lees, Thomas, Dadson, Simon Albedo, Anisotropy
Climate regime shift and forest loss amplify fire in Amazonian forests Xu, Xiyan, Jia, Gensuo, Zhang, Xiaoyan, Riley, William J., Xue, Ying Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Fire Occurrence, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Marshland loss warms local land surface temperature in China Shen, Xiangjin, Liu, Binhui, Jiang, Ming, Lu, Xianguo Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature
Global climate Ades, M., Adler, R., Allan, Rob, Allan, R. P., Anderson, J., Arguez, Anthony, Arosio, C., Augustine, J. A., Azorin-Molina, C., Barichivich, J., Barnes, J., Beck, H. E., Becker, Andreas, Bellouin, Nicolas, Benedetti, Angela, Berry, David I., Blenkinsop, Stephen, Bock, Olivier., Bosilovich, Michael G., Boucher, Olivier., Buehler, S. A., Carrea, Laura., Christiansen, Hanne H., Chouza, F., Christy, John R., Chung, E.-S., Coldewey-Egbers, Melanie, Compo, Gil P., Cooper, Owen R., Covey, Curt, Crotwell, A., Davis, Sean M., de Eyto, Elvira, de Jeu, Richard A. M, VanderSat, B.V., DeGasperi, Curtis L., Degenstein, Doug, Di Girolamo, Larry, Dokulil, Martin T., Donat, Markus G., Dorigo, Wouter A., Durre, Imke, Dutton, Geoff S., Duveiller, G., Elkins, James W., Fioletov, Vitali E., Flemming, Johannes, Foster, Michael J., Frey, Richard A., Frith, Stacey M., Froidevaux, Lucien, Garforth, J., Gupta, S. K., Haimberger, Leopold, Hall, Brad D., Harris, Ian, Heidinger, Andrew K, Hemming, D. L., Ho, Shu-peng (Ben), Hubert, Daan, Hurst, Dale F., Huser, I., Inness, Antje, Isaksen, K., John, Viju, Jones, Philip D., Kaiser, J. W., Kelly, S., Khaykin, S., Kidd, R., Kim, Hyungiun, Kipling, Z., Kraemer, B. M., Kratz, D. P., La Fuente, R. S., Lan, Xin, Lantz, Kathleen O., Leblanc, T., Li, Bailing, Loeb, Norman G, Long, Craig S., Loyola, Diego, Marszelewski, Wlodzimierz, Martens, B., May, Linda, Mayer, Michael, McCabe, M. F., McVicar, Tim R., Mears, Carl A., Menzel, W. Paul, Merchant, Christopher J., Miller, Ben R., Miralles, Diego G., Montzka, Stephen A., Morice, Colin, Muhle, Jens, Myneni, R., Nicolas, Julien P., Noetzli, Jeannette, Osborn, Tim J., Park, T., Pasik, A., Paterson, Andrew M., Pelto, Mauri S., Perkins-Kirkpatrick, S., Petron, G., Phillips, C., Pinty, Bernard, Po-Chedley, S., Polvani, L., Preimesberger, W., Pulkkanen, M., Randel, W. J., Remy, Samuel, Ricciardulli, L., Richardson, A. D., Rieger, L., Robinson, David A., Rodell, Matthew, Rosenlof, Karen H., Roth, Chris, Rozanov, A., Rusak, James A., Rusanovskaya, O., Rutishauser, T., Sanchez-Lugo, Ahira, Sawaengphokhai, P., Scanlon, T., Schenzinger, Verena, Schladow, S. Geoffey, Schlegel, R. W, Schmid, Martin, Eawag, Selkirk, H. B., Sharma, S., Shi, Lei, Shimaraeva, S. V., Silow, E. A., Simmons, Adrian J., Smith, C. A., Smith, Sharon L, Soden, B. J., Sofieva, Viktoria, Sparks, T. H., Stackhouse, Paul W., Steinbrecht, Wolfgang, Streletskiy, Dimitri A., Taha, G., Telg, Hagen, Thackeray, S. J., Timofeyev, M. A., Tourpali, Kleareti, Tye, Mari R., van der A, Ronald J., van der Schalie, Robin, VanderSat B.V., van der SchrierW. Paul, Gerard, van der Werf, Guido R., Verburg, Piet, Vernier, Jean-Paul, Vomel, Holger, Vose, Russell S., Wang, Ray, Watanabe, Shohei G., Weber, Mark, Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A., Wiese, David, Wilber, Anne C., Wild, Jeanette D., Wong, Takmeng, Woolway, R. Iestyn, Yin, Xungang, Zhao, Lin, Zhao, Guanguo, Zhou, Xinjia, Ziemke, Jerry R., Ziese, Markus Albedo, Anisotropy
You're viewing 75 of 104