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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
Projects
TERRA
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: 2026-06-03

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
What can hydrological modelling gain from spatially explicit Zheng, Xudong, Liu, Dengfeng, Wang, Hao, Ma, Chuanhui, Liu, Hui, Ming, Guanghui, Li, Qiang, Khan, Mohd Yawar Ali, Hussain, Fiaz Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Water Functional Zoning Framework Based on Machine Learning: A Case Liu, Wei, Sun, Yuanzhuo, Deng, Fuliang, Wu, Bo, Zhang, Xiaoyan, Sun, Mei, Li, Lanhui, Li, Hui, Yuan, Ying Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Water quality prediction based on multi-model ensemble learning in a large-scale basin: A case study of the Poyang Lake Basin, China Zhu, Yu, Wang, Jinliang Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Unprecedented Amazonian rainforests damage during the 20232024 droughts Bai, Hao, Liu, Xiangzhuo, Yang, Hui, Chave, Jerome, Ciais, Philippe, Wigneron, Jean-Pierre, Saatchi, Sassan, Xiao, Jingfeng, Le Toan, Thuy, Hu, Xiaomei, Yang, Ziyan, Wang, Lijun, Fan, Lei, Yao, Yitong, Chen, Xiuzhi, Liu, Yanxu, Xue, Baolin, Guo, Qinghua, Tang, Zhiyao, Liu, Hongyan, Fang, Jingyun, Tao, Shengli Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Reflectance, Anisotropy
Unsustainable oasis greening driven by cropland expansion in an inland Liu, Yuhang, Niu, Jun, Singh, Shailesh Kumar, Liu, Zhongyi Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
A Machine Learning Algorithm to Convert Geostationary Satellite LST to Air Temperature Using In Situ Measurements: A Case Study in Rome and High-Resolution Spatio-Temporal UHI Analysis Cecilia, Andrea, Casasanta, Giampietro, Petenko, Igor, Argentini, Stefania Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Analysis of Carbon Source/Sink Driving Factors Under Climate Change in the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Through MGWR Wu, Ritu, Hong, Zhimin, Du, Wala, Ying, Hong, Wu, Rihan, Shan, Yu, Bayarsaikhan, Sainbuyan, Xiang, Dan Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Advancing basin-scale drought monitoring: Development of a regional combined drought index using precipitation, soil moisture, and vegetation data Abebe, Asnake Kassahun, Zhou, Xiang, Lv, Tingting, Tao, Zui, Bayissa, Yared, Zhang, Hongming, Elnashar, Abdelrazek Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Ambient coarse particulate matter pollution and hospital admissions for Ma, Yating, Bai, Lijun, Jiang, Yunxing, Wang, Jinxi, Wei, Chen, Li, Yinxiang, Tian, Yumei, Wu, Shaowei Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Agricultural Drought Survey Based Upon Multiple Indices in Southeast Anatolia Project Region, Upper Mesopotamia, Turkiye Duran, Sultan, Dogan, Mesut Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
An improved machine-learning model for lightning-ignited wildfire prediction in Texas Zhang, Qi, Gao, Cong, Shi, Chunming Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
An improved spatiotemporal savitzky-golay (iSTSG) method to improve the quality of vegetation index time-series data on the Google Earth Engine Wang, Weiyi, Cao, Ruyin, Liu, Licong, Zhou, Ji, Shen, Miaogen, Zhu, Xiaolin, Chen, Jin 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)
Building a Healthy Urban Design Index (HUDI): how to promote health and Montana, Federica, Mueller, Natalie, Barboza, Evelise Pereira, Khomenko, Sasha, Iungman, Tamara, Cirach, Marta, Daher, Carolyn, Chakraborty, TC, de Hoogh, Kees, Battiston, Alice, Schifanella, Rossano, Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Association between residential greenspace and anaemia prevalence among Saw, Gautam, Van Buskirk, Joe, Dey, Sagnik, Singh, Neha, Knibbs, Luke D. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Banana Bunchy Top Disease in Rwanda: Identifying Disease Presence and Potential Areas at Risk Gaidashova, Svetlana V., Kajuga, Joelle, Blomme, Guy, Ocimati, Walter, Kearsley, Elizabeth, Hufkens, Koen, Nishimwe, Immaculee, Ndayizeye, Jean Paul, Omondi, Bonaventure Aman Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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)
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
Habitat suitability for tropical Asian stingless bees across anthropogenic landscapes Wayo, K., Haydon, D. T., Piraonapicha, K., Nelli, L. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
High Resolution Water Quality Dataset of Chinese Lakes and Reservoirs from 2000 to 2023 Luan, Shilong, Pan, Huixiao, Shen, Ruoque, Xia, Xiaosheng, Duan, Hongtao, Yuan, Wenping, Wei, Jing Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Heterogeneous impacts of human activities and climate change on Yang, Dazhi, Liu, Yaqun Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
GroundwaterCO2 emissions relationship in Dutch peatlands derived by machine learning using airborne and ground-based eddy covariance data van der Poel, Laura M., Bataille, Laurent V., Kruijt, Bart, Franssen, Wietse, Jans, Wilma, Biermann, Jan, Rietman, Anne, Buzacott, Alex J. V., van der Velde, Ype, Boelens, Ruben, Hutjes, Ronald W. A. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Groundwater Crisis in the Eastern Loess Plateau: Evolution of Storage Li, Jifei, Ma, Jinzhu, Zhou, Ying, Duan, Zhihua, Guo, Yuning Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Ground subsidence evolution and groundwater variation in the middle Zhang, Rui, Wang, Ting, Liu, Guoxiang, Shama, Age, Liu, Anmengyun, Wang, Xiaowen, Deng, Lin, Mao, Wenfei Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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