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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
Biases in the albedo sensitivity to do Forestation in CMIP5 models and their impacts on me associated historical radiative forcing Lejeune, Quentin, Davin, Edouard L., Duveiller, Gregory, Crezee, Bas, Meier, Ronny, Cescatti, Alessandro, Seneviratne, Sonia I. Albedo, Anisotropy
The global response of temperature to high-latitude vegetation greening in a two-dimensional energy balance model BI, Lu, HE, Yongli, HUANG, Jianping, LI, Yaokun, GUAN, Xiaodan, LIU, Xiaoyue Albedo, Anisotropy
The accuracy improvement of clear-sky surface shortwave radiation derived from CERES SSF dataset with a simulation analysis Huang, Guan, Liu, Qiong, Wang, Yanyu, He, Qianshan, Chen, Yonghang, Jin, Lili, Liu, Tongqiang, He, Qing, Gao, Jiacheng, Zhao, Keming, Liu, Pingping Albedo, Anisotropy, Aerosols, Aerosol Extinction, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent, Aerosol Particle Properties, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Organic Particles, Sulfate Particles, Sulfur Oxides, Sulfur Compounds, Sulfate, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Dimethyl Sulfide, Black Carbon, Sea Salt, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 2.5), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 1.0), PARTICULATE MATTER (PM 10)
Temperature and precipitation in the southern Central Andes during the last glacial maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, and the Younger Dryas Mey, Jurgen, DArcy, Mitch K., Schildgen, Taylor F., Egholm, David L., Wittmann, Hella, Strecker, Manfred R. Albedo, Anisotropy, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate
Spatiotemporal variations and relationships of aerosol-radiation-ecosystem productivity over China during 20012014 Xue, Wenhao, Zhang, Jing, Qiao, Yan, Wei, Jing, Lu, Tianwei, Che, Yunfei, Tian, Yulu Albedo, Anisotropy, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Preliminary selection and characterization of pseudo-invariant calibration sites in northwest China Hu, Xiuqing, Wang, Ling, Wang, Junwei, He, Lingli, Chen, Lin, Xu, Na, Tao, Bingcheng, Zhang, Lu, Zhang, Peng, Lu, Naimeng Albedo, Anisotropy
Estimation of the dust aerosol shortwave direct forcing over land based on an equi-albedo method from satellite measurements Tian, Lin, Zhang, Peng, Chen, Lin Albedo, Anisotropy
Evaluating and comparing remote sensing terrestrial GPP models for their response to climate variability and CO2 trends Sun, Zhongyi, Wang, Xiufeng, Zhang, Xirui, Tani, Hiroshi, Guo, Enliang, Yin, Shuai, Zhang, Tianyou Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Improving permafrost physics in the coupled Canadian Land Surface Scheme (v.3.6.2) and Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (v.2.1) (CLASS-CTEM) Melton, Joe R., Verseghy, Diana L., Sospedra-Alfonso, Reinel, Gruber, Stephan Albedo, Anisotropy
High-resolution mapping of nitrogen dioxide with TROPOMIfirst results and validation over the Canadian Oil Sands Griffin, Debora, Zhao, Xiaoyi, McLinden, Chris A., Boersma, Folkert, Bourassa, Adam, Dammers, Enrico, Degenstein, Doug, Eskes, Henk, Fehr, Lukas, Fioletov, Vitali, Hayden, Katherine, Kharol, Shailesh K., Li, ShaoMeng, Makar, Paul, Martin, Randall V., Mihele, Cristian, Mittermeier, Richard L., Krotkov, Nickolay, Sneep, Maarten, Lamsal, Lok N., Linden, Mark ter, Geffen, Jos van, Veefkind, Pepijn, Wolde, Mengistu Albedo, Anisotropy, Nitrogen Dioxide
Empirical evidence of a positive climate forcing of aerosols at elevated albedo Yoon, J., Chang, D.Y., Lelieveld, J., Pozzer, A., Kim, J., Yum, S.S. Albedo, Anisotropy
A scanning strategy optimized for signal-to-noise ratio for the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb) instrument Nivitanont, Jeffrey, Crowell, Sean M. R., Moore III, Berrien Albedo, Anisotropy
Global observed and modelled impacts of irrigation on surface temperature Chen, Liang, Dirmeyer, Paul A. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Reflectance
Burned area and surface albedo productsAssessment of change consistency at global scale Mota, Bernardo, Gobron, Nadine, Cappucci, Fabrizio, Morgan, Olivier Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Albedo, Anisotropy
Can Convection-Permitting Modeling Provide Decent Precipitation for He, Cenlin, Chen, Fei, Barlage, Michael, Liu, Changhai, Newman, Andrew, Tang, Wenfu, Ikeda, Kyoko, Rasmussen, Roy Albedo, Anisotropy
The impact of the land cover dynamics on surface urban heat island variations in semi-arid citiesA case study in Ahmedabad City, India, using multi-sensor/source data Mohammad, Pir, Goswami, Ajanta, Bonafoni, Stefania Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
State of the climate in 2018 Blunden, Jessica, Arndt, Derek S. Heat Flux, Heat Flux, Heat Flux, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Water Vapor Tendency, Water Vapor Flux, Cloud Dynamics, Cloud Microphysics, Snow/Ice, Precipitation, Atmospheric Ozone, 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, Oxygen Compounds, Boundary Layer Winds, Total Ozone, Albedo, Anisotropy, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain
Two-dimensional mineral dust radiative effect calculations from CALIPSO Granados-Munoz, Maria Jose, Sicard, Michael, Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos, Barragan, Ruben, Bravo-Aranda, Juan Antonio, Nicolae, Doina Albedo, Anisotropy
Glyoxal yield from isoprene oxidation and relation to formaldehyde: chemical mechanism, constraints from SENEX aircraft observations, and interpretation of OMI ... Chan Miller, Christopher, Jacob, Daniel J., Marais, Eloise A., Yu, Karen, Travis, Katherine R., Kim, Patrick S., Fisher, Jenny A., Zhu, Lei, Wolfe, Glenn M., Hanisco, Thomas F., Keutsch, Frank N., Kaiser, Jennifer, Min, Kyung-Eun, Brown, Steven S., Washenfelder, Rebecca A., Gonzalez Abad, Gonzalo, Chance, Kelly Albedo, Anisotropy
Benchmarking of essential climate variablesGamma index theory and results for surface albedo and aerosol optical depth Cappucci, Fabrizio, Gobron, Nadine Albedo, Anisotropy
Combined neural network/PhillipsTikhonov approach to aerosol retrievals over land from the NASA Research Scanning Polarimeter Di Noia, Antonio, Hasekamp, Otto P., Wu, Lianghai, van Diedenhoven, Bastiaan, Cairns, Brian, Yorks, John E. Albedo, Anisotropy
Observations of increased cloud cover over irrigated agriculture in an arid environment Garcia-Carreras, Luis, Marsham, John H., Spracklen, Dominick V. Albedo, Anisotropy, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature
Quantification of the effect of modeled lightning NO2 on UVvisible air mass factors Laughner, Joshua L., Cohen, Ronald C. Nitrogen Dioxide, Albedo, Anisotropy
Effects of daily meteorology on the interpretation of space-based remote sensing of NO2 Laughner, Joshua L., Zare, Azimeh, Cohen, Ronald C. Nitrogen Dioxide, Albedo, Anisotropy
PALADYN v1. 0, a comprehensive land surfacevegetationcarbon cycle model of intermediate complexity Willeit, Matteo, Ganopolski, Andrey Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Vegetation Index, Vegetation Cover, Plant Characteristics, Leaf Characteristics, Canopy Characteristics, Reflectance
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