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Description

The MCD64A1 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD64A1 Version 6.1 data product.

The Terra and Aqua combined MCD64A1 Version 6 Burned Area data product is a monthly, global gridded 500 meter (m) product containing per-pixel burned-area and quality information. The MCD64A1 burned-area mapping approach employs 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Surface Reflectance imagery coupled with 1 kilometer (km) MODIS active fire observations. The algorithm uses a burn sensitive Vegetation Index (VI) to create dynamic thresholds that are applied to the composite data. The VI is derived from MODIS shortwave infrared atmospherically corrected surface reflectance bands 5 and 7 with a measure of temporal texture. The algorithm identifies the date of burn for the 500 m grid cells within each individual MODIS tile. The date is encoded in a single data layer as the ordinal day of the calendar year on which the burn occurred with values assigned to unburned land pixels and additional special values reserved for missing data and water grid cells.

The data layers provided in the MCD64A1 product include Burn Date, Burn Data Uncertainty, Quality Assurance, along with First Day and Last Day of reliable change detection of the year.

Known Issues

  • Known issues are described on the MODIS Land Quality Assessment website and in Section 8 of the User Guide which covers Cropland Burning, the August 2000 and June 2001 Data Outages, and the August 2020 Aqua Outage.

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6 burned area data products: (1) The product is now generated using an improved version of the MCD64 burned area mapping algorithm (Giglio et al., 2009), i.e., MCD64A1 will be adopted as the standard MODIS burned area product for Collection 6. The MCD45A1 product will not be generated beyond Collection 5.1, (2) The product is generated using Version 6 surface reflectance and active fire input data, (3) General improvement (reduced omission error) in burned area detection, including significantly better detection of small burns, (4) Modest reduction in burn-date temporal uncertainty, (5) Significant reduction in the occurrence of unclassified grid cells due to algorithm changes and refinements in the upstream Version 6 input data, (6) Product coverage expanded from 219 to 268 MODIS tiles, and (7) Expanded per-pixel Quality Assurance (QA) product layer.

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
2000-11-01 to 2022-12-31
Temporal Resolution
1 Month
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
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
C2763297163-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Fire Ecology ,
Biomass Burning ,
Wildfires ,
Fire Occurrence

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

Giglio, L., Justice, C., Boschetti, L., & Roy, D. (2015). MCD64A1 MODIS/Terra+Aqua Burned Area Monthly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V006 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD64A1.006 Date Accessed: 2026-07-03

File Naming Convention

MCD64A1.A2002244.h11v12.006.2017013095459.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD64A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002244), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h11v12), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2017013095459), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Co-occurrence of marine and atmospheric heatwaves with drought conditions and fire activity in the Mediterranean region Santos, Raquel, Russo, Ana, Gouveia, Celia M. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Coherence of recurring fires and land use change in South America Ren, Shulin, Xu, Xiyan, Jia, Gensuo, Huang, Anqi, Ma, Wei Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Characteristics
Burn Severity and Post-Fire Weather Are Key to Predicting Rifai, Sami W., De Kauwe, Martin G., Gallagher, Rachael V., Cernusak, Lucas A., Meir, Patrick, Pitman, Andy J. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Comparing the performance of three satellite-based data products for assessing protected area effectiveness Papunen, Saija, Eklund, Johanna Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Framework to Create Inventory Dataset for Disaster Behavior Analysis Using Google Earth Engine: A Case Study in Peninsular Malaysia for Historical Forest Fire ... Chew, Yee Jian, Ooi, Shih Yin, Pang, Ying Han, Lim, Zheng You Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Fires as collateral or means of war: challenges of environmental peacebuilding in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Eklund, Lina, Dinc, Pinar Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Extensive woody encroachment altering Angolan miombo woodlands despite cropland expansion and frequent fires Loft, Ty, Stevens, Nicola, Goncalves, Francisco Maiato Pedro, Oliveras Menor, Imma Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Global patterns and drivers of post-fire vegetation productivity recovery Xu, Hongtao, Chen, Hans W., Chen, Deliang, Wang, Yingping, Yue, Xu, He, Bin, Guo, Lanlan, Yuan, Wenping, Zhong, Ziqian, Huang, Ling, Zheng, Fei, Li, Tiewei, He, Xiangqi Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Global expansion of wildland-urban interface (WUI) and WUI fires: insights from a multiyear worldwide unified database (WUWUI) Tang, Wenfu, He, Cenlin, Emmons, Louisa, Zhang, Junzhe Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Burned Area
Grazing herbivores reduce herbaceous biomass and fire activity across Karp, A. Tyler, Koerner, Sally E., Hempson, Gareth P., Abraham, Joel O., Anderson, T. Michael, Bond, William J., Burkepile, Deron E., Fillion, Elizabeth N., Goheen, Jacob R., Guyton, Jennifer A., Kartzinel, Tyler R., Kimuyu, Duncan M., Mohanbabu, Neha, Palmer, Todd M., Porensky, Lauren M., Pringle, Robert M., Ritchie, Mark E., Smith, Melinda D., Thompson, Dave I., Young, Truman P., Staver, A. Carla Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Land degradation in the European UnionWhere does the evidence converge? Gianoli, Federico, Weynants, Melanie, Cherlet, Michael Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
MCD64A1 Burnt Area Dataset Assessment using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 on Google Earth Engine: A Case Study in Rompin, Pahang in Malaysia Chew, Yee Jian, Ooi, Shih Yin, Pang, Ying Han Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Measuring Understory Fire Effects from Space: Canopy Change in Response East, Alyson, Hansen, Andrew, Armenteras, Dolors, Jantz, Patrick, Roberts, David W. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Lidar, Forest Composition/Vegetation Structure, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Canopy Characteristics
High-Resolution Semantic Segmentation of Woodland Fires Using Residual Shirvani, Zeinab, Abdi, Omid, Goodman, Rosa C. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
High-resolution data reveal a surge of biomass loss from temperate and Atlantic pine forests, contextualizing the 2022 fire season distinctiveness in France Vallet, Lilian, Schwartz, Martin, Ciais, Philippe, van Wees, Dave, de Truchis, Aurelien, Mouillot, Florent Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds
Improving wildland fire spread prediction using deep U-Nets Khennou, Fadoua, Akhloufi, Moulay A. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
In a rough spot: Declines in Arthroleptella rugosa calling densities are Angus, Oliver, Turner, Andrew A., Measey, John Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
National ground-level NO2 predictions via satellite imagery driven convolutional neural networks Cao, Elton L. Population Density, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Remotely Sensed Agriculture Drought Indices for Assessing the Impact on Khlif, Manel, Escorihuela, Maria Jose, Chahbi Bellakanji, Aicha, Paolini, Giovanni, Lili Chabaane, Zohra Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Reply to: Detecting long-term Arctic surface water changes Webb, Elizabeth E., Liljedahl, Anna K., Loranty, Michael M., Witharana, Chandi, Lichstein, Jeremy W. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Regional ecological forecasting across scales: A manifesto for a Slingsby, Jasper A., Wilson, Adam M., Maitner, Brian, Moncrieff, Glenn R. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Nest-site selection model for endangered Everglade snail kites to inform Benscoter, Allison M., D'Acunto, Laura E., Haider, Saira M., Fletcher, Robert J., Romanach, Stephanie S. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Precipitation gradients drive high tree species turnover in the Davies, Robert W., Ryan, Casey M., Harrison, Rhett D., Dexter, Kyle G., Ahrends, Antje, te Beest, Mariska, Benitez, Lorena, Brade, Thom K., Carreiras, Joao M. B., Druce, Dave J., Fayolle, Adeline, Finckh, Manfred, Godlee, John L., Gonclaves, Francisco M., Grundy, Isla M., Hoche, T., Holdo, Ricardo M., Makungwa, Steve, McNicol, Iain M., Mograbi, Penelope J., Muchawona, Anderson, Muhate, Aristidies, Muledi, Jonathan, Pritchard, Rose, Revermann, Rasmus, Ribeiro, Natasha S., Siampale, Abel, Carla Staver, A., Syampungani, Stephen, Williams, Mathew, Swemmer, Anthony M., Edwards, David P. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Protected areas are effective on curbing fires in the Amazon Pessoa, Ana Carolina M., Morello R.S., Thiago F., Silva-Junior, Celso H.L., Doblas, Juan, Carvalho, Nathalia S., Aragao, Luiz E.O.C., Anderson, Liana O. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Much faster warming-tracking rate of the latitudinal forest line in North America than that in Eurasia under the early 21st century's warming Wang, Mengjie, Lu, Zihan, Cong, Nan, Chen, Anping Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
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