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Description
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra MOD09A1 Version 6.1 product provides an estimate of the surface spectral reflectance of Terra MODIS Bands 1 through 7 corrected for atmospheric conditions such as gasses, aerosols, and Rayleigh scattering. Along with the seven 500 meter (m) reflectance bands are two quality layers and four observation bands. For each pixel, a value is selected from all the acquisitions within the 8-day composite period. The criteria for the pixel choice include cloud and solar zenith. When several acquisitions meet the criteria the pixel with the minimum channel 3 (blue) value is used.
The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 surface reflectance 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).
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
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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)
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.
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Vermote, E. (2021). MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD09A1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-08-22
@misc{vermote_2021,
title={MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061},
url={https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/catalog/lpcloud-mod09a1-061},
DOI={10.5067/MODIS/MOD09A1.061},
publisher={NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center},
author={Vermote, Eric},
year={2021},
}
Vermote, E. (2021). MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD09A1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-08-22
Vermote, Eric. “MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061.” NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021, https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD09A1.061. Date Accessed: 2026-08-22
File Naming Convention
MOD09A1.A2025209.h28v12.061.2025218035852.hdf
The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD09A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025209), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h28v12), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025218035852), and the Data Format (hdf).
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