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Description

The Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Vegetation Indices Monthly (MOD13A3) Version 6.1 data are provided monthly at 1 kilometer (km) spatial resolution as a gridded Level 3 product in the sinusoidal projection. In generating this monthly product, the algorithm ingests all the MOD13A2 products that overlap the month and employs a weighted temporal average.

The MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) complements NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) NDVI products and provides continuity for time series historical applications. MODIS also includes an Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) that minimizes canopy background variations and maintains sensitivity over dense vegetation conditions. The EVI uses the blue band to remove residual atmosphere contamination caused by smoke and sub-pixel thin clouds. The MODIS NDVI and EVI products are computed from surface reflectances corrected for molecular scattering, ozone absorption, and aerosols.

Vegetation indices are used for global monitoring of vegetation conditions and are used in products displaying land cover and land cover changes. These data may be used as input for modeling global biogeochemical and hydrologic processes as well as global and regional climate. Additional applications include characterizing land surface biophysical properties and processes, such as primary production and land cover conversion.

Provided along with the vegetation layers and the two quality assurance (QA) layers are reflectance bands 1 (red), 2 (near-infrared), 3 (blue), and 7 (mid-infrared), as well as three observation layers.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 vegetation indices 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
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
1000 Meters x 1000 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-01 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
C2327962326-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
91847
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Vegetation Index ,
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) ,
Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)

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

Didan, K. (2021). MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13A3.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-21

File Naming Convention

MOD13A3.A2025152.h01v11.061.2025195144044.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD13A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025152), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h01v11), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025195144044), 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
Wetland Expansion Reduces

CO
2

Equivalent Emissions and Strengthens the Congo Basin's Role as a Net Carbon Sink 		Byrne, Aidan, Williams, Jake, Pettorelli, Nathalie Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Coupling Coordination Framework for Assessing Balanced Development Between Potential Ecosystem Services and Human Activities Fang, Yixin, Meng, Fanhao, Luo, Min, Sa, Chula, Bao, Yuhai, Lei, Jun Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Deep learning calibration model for PurpleAir PM2.5 measurements: Ghahremanloo, Masoud, Choi, Yunsoo, Momeni, Mahmoudreza Population Density, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Contrasting age-dependent leaf acclimation strategies drive vegetation greening across deciduous broadleaf forests in mid-to high latitudes Wang, Fangyi, Xue, Meimei, Zhou, Liming, Doughty, Christopher E., Ciais, Philippe, Reich, Peter B., Shang, Jiali, Chen, Jing Ming, Liu, Jane, Green, Julia K., Hao, Dalei, Tao, Shengli, Su, Yanjun, Liu, Lingli, Xia, Jianyang, Wang, Han, Yu, Kailiang, Zhu, Zaichun, Zhu, Peng, Li, Xing, Liu, Hui, Zeng, Yelu, Yan, Kai, Liu, Liyang, Lafortezza, Raffaele, Su, Yongxian, Meng, Yanqiong, Pan, Yixuan, Yang, Xueqin, Fu, Yongshuo H., He, Nianpeng, Yuan, Wenping, Chen, Xiuzhi Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Plant Phenology, Reflectance, Anisotropy
Evaluating Climate Change Effects on Swan Habitats Within China: Zhang, Ke, Lin, Jun, Zheng, Jianghua, Li, Xuan, Xu, Li, Liu, Liang, Liu, Xuan, Jin, Xi, Fu, Rong, Wang, Xinwei, Sang, Yunzhi, Guo, Xiaoyu Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Plant Phenology
Evaluating the impact of two next-generation long-lasting insecticidal Epstein, Adrienne, Gonahasa, Samuel, Namuganga, Jane Frances, Nassali, Martha J, Maiteki-Sebuguzi, Catherine, Nabende, Isaiah, Snyman, Katherine, Nankabirwa, Joaniter I, Opigo, Jimmy, Donnelly, Martin J, Staedke, Sarah G, Kamya, Moses R, Dorsey, Grant Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Human activities and climate change are the main factors of amphibian extinction Chen, Zhong, Cao, Yuan-Sheng, Dong, Meng-Sheng, Li, Wen-Bo Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Human activity positively associated with the risk of spread of the giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica) recently reported in central and northern China Tan, Mengxi, He, Sanchun, Shang, Wenqi, Zhang, Buwei, Yang, Mengjia, Huang, Yimin, Xiong, Wen, Xu, Kun Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Human Footprint and Forest Disturbance Reduce Space Use of Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) Across Europe Hertel, Anne G., Parres, Aida, Frank, Shane C., Renaud, Julien, Selva, Nuria, Zedrosser, Andreas, Balkenhol, Niko, Maiorano, Luigi, Fedorca, Ancuta, Dutta, Trishna, Bogdanovic, Neda, Bragalanti, Natalia, Chiriac, Silviu, Cirovic, Dusko, Ciucci, Paolo, Domokos, Csaba, Fedorca, Mihai, Filacorda, Stefano, Findo, Slavomir, Groff, Claudio, de Gabriel Hernando, Miguel, Huber, Djuro, Ionescu, Georgeta, Jerina, Klemen, Karamanlidis, Alexandros A., Kindberg, Jonas, Kojola, Ilpo, Mertzanis, Yorgos, Palazon, Santiago, Pop, Mihai I., Psaralexi, Maria, Quenette, Pierre Yves, Sergiel, Agnieszka, Skuban, Michaela, Zlatanova, Diana, ZwijaczKozica, Tomasz, De Barba, Marta Land Use/Land Cover, Anthropogenic/Human Influenced Ecosystems, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Improvement of near-surface wind speed modeling through refined aerodynamic roughness length in high-roughness surface regions: implementation and validation ... Wang, Jiamin, Yang, Kun, Liu, Jiarui, Zhou, Xu, Ma, Xiaogang, Tang, Wenjun, Yuan, Ling, Ren, Zuhuan Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
HighResolution Downscaling of Disposable Income in Europe Using OpenSource Data Mikou, Mehdi, Vallet, Ameline, Guivarch, Celine, Makowski, David Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
How does the mixing assumption influence the distributed tracer-aided Nan, Yi, Tian, Fuqiang, Li, Zongxing Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Greenspace mitigates the global disease and economic burdens of non-communicable diseases Qiu, Hui-Ling, Xie, Yu-Ting, Zhou, Gang-Long, Zhu, Shi-Fu, Zhao, Tianyu, Heinrich, Joachim, Bloom, Michael S., Huang, Wen-Zhong, Lau, Sam S.S., Zhang, Yi-Dan, Li, Jia-Xin, Wang, Lu, Zhu, Xiao-Qi, Jiang, Jian-Cheng, Lin, Shao, Zou, Xiao-Guang, Li, Li, Dong, Guang-Hui, Fan, Shu-Jun, Yang, Bo-Yi Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover
Disentangling the effects of temperature and rainfall on the population dynamics of Kalahari meerkats Thorley, Jack, Duncan, Chris, Gaynor, Dave, Manser, Marta B., Clutton-Brock, Tim Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Does within-biome drought sensitivity reflect patterns across biomes? Hedberg, Sydney L., Dao, Phuong D., Knapp, Alan K. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Maximum/Minimum Temperature, Precipitation Amount, Snow Water Equivalent, Vapor Pressure, Shortwave Radiation
Drought assessment and development trend in Mu Us Sandy Land based on Lie, Liang, Xiaohan, Wang, Yan, Chao, Jiamin, Li, Yonghua, Zhu Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Specific Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Wind Speed, Rain, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Cover, Snow Depth, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Dual effects on vegetation caused by urban expansion in global drylands: Qi, Tao, He, Chunyang, Ren, Qiang, Wang, Yida, Cao, Shengpeng Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Dynamic assessment and zoning strategies for ecosystem health in Poyang Zou, Zhiyao, Luo, Songkai, Duan, Ping Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Environmental exposure assessment in the German National Cohort (NAKO) Wolf, Kathrin, Dallavalle, Marco, Niedermayer, Fiona, Bolte, Gabriele, Lakes, Tobia, Schikowski, Tamara, Greiser, Karin Halina, Schwettmann, Lars, Westerman, Ronny, Nikolaou, Nikolaos, Staab, Jeroen, Wolff, Robert, Stubs, Gunthard, Rach, Stefan, Schneider, Alexandra, Peters, Annette, Hoffmann, Barbara Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Assessing Large-Scale Flood Risks: A Multi-Source Data Approach Wang, Mengyao, Zhu, Hong, Yao, Jiaqi, Hu, Liuru, Kang, Haojie, Qian, An Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Assessing long-term vegetation changes, pollution and climate response Dumka, Umesh Chandra, Rawat, Kiran, Kaskaoutis, Dimitris G., Srivastava, Ankur, Bilal, Muhammad, Kimothi, Sanjeev, Gupta, Prasun Kumar, Kumari, Nikul Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Climate Impacts on Forest and Grassland Resilience in China: The Role of Wang, Lifeng, Nian, Da, Yuan, Naiming Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Characteristics and climate driver of the greenness trends of the Indian ecosystem during 20012022 Chandra, A. Bhuvana, Nayak, Rabindra Kumar, Chawang, Noel M., Ramana, M. V., Rao, G. Srinivas, Chauhan, Prakash Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Epidemiologic features and potential year of life lost of scrub typhus in China: A nationwide surveillance analysis (20062023) Peng, Pei-Ying, Xu, Lei, Sun, Ji-Qin, Yan, Ting-Liang, Li, Zi-Liang, Duan, Hui-Ying, Ma, Li-Juan, Zu, Ya Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Multi-scale soil erosion simulation by using an artificial neural network Rao, Wenli, Hu, Hongbo, Zhang, Qingfeng, Ren, Fanfei, Qu, Jiaqi Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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