Skip to main content

Description

The Terra and Aqua combined MCD64A1 Version 6.1 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

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 Burned Area 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
2000-11-01 to Present
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
C2565786756-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
82532
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Fire Ecology ,
Biomass Burning ,
Wildfires ,
Fire Occurrence ,
Burned Area

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. (2021). MODIS/Terra+Aqua Burned Area Monthly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD64A1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-08-24

File Naming Convention

MCD64A1.A2025152.h06v03.061.2025220161136.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD64A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025152), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h06v03), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025220161136), 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
Increasing numbers of global change stressors reduce soil carbon worldwide Saez-Sandino, Tadeo, Maestre, Fernando T., Berdugo, Miguel, Gallardo, Antonio, Plaza, Cesar, Garcia-Palacios, Pablo, Guirado, Emilio, Zhou, Guiyao, Mueller, Carsten W., Tedersoo, Leho, Crowther, T. W., Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel Population Density, Animal Manure and Waste, Conservation, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Influence of precipitation and temperature on burned areas in the agricultural and cattle ranching frontier of the Brazilian Amazon Moreira, Rodrigo Martins, Martins, Ruan Almeida Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Integrating habitat suitability, disturbance, and biotic interactions into the ecological restoration of the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) in drylands of the southwest of ... Albuquerque, Fabio Suzart de, Rowe, Helen, Burquez, Alberto, Rey Benayas, Jose Maria Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Intercomparison of Air Quality Models in a Megacity: Toward an Deroubaix, Adrien, Hoelzemann, Judith J., Ynoue, Rita Yuri, Toledo de Almeida Albuquerque, Taciana, Alves, Rafaela Cruz, de Fatima Andrade, Maria, Andreao, Willian Lemker, Bouarar, Idir, de Souza Fernandes Duarte, Edicle, Elbern, Hendrik, Franke, Philipp, Lange, Anne Caroline, Lichtig, Pablo, Lugon, Lya, Martins, Leila D., de Arruda Moreira, Gregori, Pedruzzi, Rizzieri, Rosario, Nilton, Brasseur, Guy Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
mapme.biodiversity: Efficient Monitoring of Global Biodiversity Portfolios Gorgen, Darius A., Bhandari, Om Prakash Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Long-Term Satellite Monitoring of Various Types of Wildfires and Wildfire-Induced Emissions of Climate-Active Gases and Aerosols in Russia and in Its Large Regions Bondur, V. G., Zima, A. L., Feoktistova, N. V. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Burned Area
Monitoring the impact of forest changes on carbon uptake with solar-induced fluorescence measurements from GOME-2A and TROPOMI for an Australian and ... Anema, Juliette C. S., Boersma, Klaas Folkert, Stammes, Piet, Koren, Gerbrand, Woodgate, William, Kohler, Philipp, Frankenberg, Christian, Stol, Jacqui Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Radiative forcing geoengineering causes higher risk of wildfires and permafrost thawing over the Arctic regions Muller, Rhonda C., Kim, Jin-Soo, Lee, Hanna, Muri, Helene, Tjiputra, Jerry, Yoon, Jin-Ho, Schaepman-Strub, Gabriela Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Quantifying Prescribed-Fire Smoke Exposure Using Low-Cost Sensors and Sablan, Olivia, Ford, Bonne, Gargulinski, Emily, Hammer, Melanie S., Henery, Giovanna, Kondragunta, Shobha, Martin, Randall V., Rosen, Zoey, Slater, Kellin, van Donkelaar, Aaron, Zhang, Hai, Soja, Amber J., Magzamen, Sheryl, Pierce, Jeffrey R., Fischer, Emily V. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Observational Support for Regional Policy Implementation: Land Surface Change Under Anthropogenic and Climate Pressure in SALDi Study Sites Baade, Jussi, Gessner, Ursula, Hahndiek, Eugene, Harmse, Christiaan, Hill, Steven, Hirner, Andreas, Maruping-Mzileni, Nkabeng, Otte, Insa, Pathe, Carsten, Renner, Paul, Schellenberg, Konstantin, Selvaraj, Shanmugapriya, Smith, Chris, Strydom, Tercia, Swanepol, Annette, Thonfeld, Frank, Urban, Marcel, Zhang, Zhenyu, Schmullius, Christiane Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Prescribed burning and integrated fire management in the Brazilian Cerrado: demonstrated impacts and scale-up potential for emission abatement Franke, Jonas, Sena Barradas, Ana Carolina, Borges, Kelly Maria Resende, Hoffmann, Anja A, Filho, Juan Carlos Orozco, Ramos, Rossano Marchetti, Steil, Lara, Roman-Cuesta, Rosa Maria Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Pyrogeography in flux: Reorganization of Australian fire regimes in a Cunningham, Calum X., Williamson, Grant J., Nolan, Rachael H., Teckentrup, Lina, Boer, Matthias M., Bowman, David M. J. S. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Predicting potential fire severity in Turkiye's diverse forested areas: a SHAP-integrated random forest classification approach Eker, Remzi, Aydn, Abdurrahim Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Multi-timescale variation characteristics of PM2. 5 in different regions of China during 20142022 Liu, Rui, Shao, Min, Wang, Qin'geng Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Precipitation-induced abrupt decrease of Siberian wildfire in summer Cho, Yeonsoo, Yoon, Jin-Ho, Jeong, Jee-Hoon, Kug, Jong-Seong, Kim, Baek-Min, Kim, Hyungjun, Park, Rokjin J, Kim, Sang-Woo Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES
The Drought Regime in Southern Africa: A Systematic Review Chivangulula, Fernando Maliti, Amraoui, Malik, Pereira, Mario Gonzalez Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Vegetation Cover, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Emissivity, Reflectance
Summer Compound Drought-Heat Extremes Amplify Fire-Weather Risk and Burned Area beyond Historical Thresholds in Chongqing Region, Subtropical China Gutierrez Rodriguez, Lucas, He, Yingpeng, Sun, Mengqi, Yao, Yinan, de Dios, Victor Resco Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Spatio-temporal variability of fire occurrence and recurrence in the Silva, Amanda Cavalcante da, Juvanhol, Ronie Silva, Miranda, Jonathan da Rocha Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
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)
Using Landsat time series and bi-temporal GEDI to compare spectral and structural vegetation responses after fire Huettermann, Sven, Jones, Simon, Soto-Berelov, Mariela, Hislop, Samuel Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height
Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Konduri, Venkata Shashank, Morton, Douglas C., Andela, Niels Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Underground trees inhabit varied environmental extremes across the Afrotropics Courtenay, Anya P, Moonlight, Peter W, Toby Pennington, R, Lehmann, Caroline E R Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Tropical savanna small mammals respond to loss of cover following disturbance: A global review of field studies Bergstrom, Bradley J., Scruggs, Samuel B., Vieira, Emerson M. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
You're viewing 150 of 463