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Description

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A3 Version 6.1 Albedo Model dataset is produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS data at 500 meter (m) resolution. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the 16 day which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name.

Users are urged to use the band specific quality flags to isolate the highest quality full inversion results for their own science applications as described in the User Guide.

The MCD43A3 provides black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) and white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) data at local solar noon for MODIS bands 1 through 7 and the visible, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave bands. Along with the albedo layers are the simplified mandatory quality layers for each of the 10 bands. Essential quality information provided in the corresponding MCD43A2 data file should be consulted when using this product.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 BRDF/Albedo Model Parameters 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
2000-02-16 to Present
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMASS-B/SFE) ,
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
C2278860820-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
2956255
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Albedo ,
Anisotropy

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

Schaaf, C., & Wang, Z. (2021). MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Daily L3 Global - 500m V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A3.061 Date Accessed: 2026-06-08

File Naming Convention

MCD43A3.A2025212.h11v12.061.2025221032740.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025212), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h11v12), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025221032740), 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
Challenging a Global Land Surface Model in a Local Socio-Environmental System Dahlin, Kyla M., Akanga, Donald, Lombardozzi, Danica L., Reed, David E., Shirkey, Gabriela, Lei, Cheyenne, Abraha, Michael, Chen, Jiquan Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy, Brightness Temperature, Soil Moisture/Water Content
Changes in the surface broadband shortwave radiation budget during the Wen, Guoyong, Marshak, Alexander, Tsay, Si-Chee, Herman, Jay, Jeong, Ukkyo, Abuhassan, Nader, Swap, Robert, Wu, Dong Albedo, Anisotropy, Atmospheric Emitted Radiation, Emissivity, Optical Depth/Thickness, Radiative Flux, Reflectance, Transmittance, Clouds, Cloud Condensation Nuclei, Cloud Droplet Concentration/Size, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Optical Depth/Thickness, Cloud Precipitable Water, Cloud Asymmetry, Cloud Ceiling, Cloud Frequency, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Cloud Emissivity, Cloud Radiative Forcing, Cloud Reflectance, Cloud Types, Infrared Radiance, REFLECTED INFRARED, Visible Radiance, Cloud Properties, Cloud Fraction, Cloud Top Height
Low elevation of Svalbard glaciers drives high mass loss variability Noel, Brice, Jakobs, C. L., van Pelt, W. J. J., Lhermitte, S., Wouters, B., Kohler, J., Hagen, J. O., Luks, B., Reijmer, C. H., van de Berg, W. J., van den Broeke, M. R. Albedo, Anisotropy
Land surface black-sky albedo at a fixed solar zenith angle and its relation to forest structure during peak growing season based on remote sensing data Alibakhshi, Sara, Crowther, Thomas W., Naimi, Babak Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Land Surface Temperature Trend and Its Drivers in East Africa Abera, Temesgen Alemayehu, Heiskanen, Janne, Maeda, Eduardo Eiji, Pellikka, Petri K. E. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo, Snow Grain Size, Snow Cover, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Incorporating dynamic factors for improving a GIS-based solar radiation model Zhang, Mingxi, Wang, Bin, Liu, De Li, Liu, Jiandong, Zhang, Hong, Feng, Puyu, Kong, Dongdong, Cleverly, James, Yang, Xihua, Yu, Qiang Albedo, Anisotropy
Efficient hyper-parameter determination for regularised linear BRDF parameter retrieval Zobitz, J. M., Quaife, T., Nichols, N. K. Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Development of land surface albedo algorithm for the GK-2A/AMI instrument Lee, Kyeong-Sang, Chung, Sung-Rae, Lee, Changsuk, Seo, Minji, Choi, Sungwon, Seong, Noh-Hun, Jin, Donghyun, Kang, Minseok, Yeom, Jong-Min, Roujean, Jean-Louis, Jung, Daeseong, Sim, Suyoung, Han, Kyung-Soo Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Downscaling satellite retrieved soil moisture using regression tree-based machine learning algorithms over southwest France Liu, Yangxiaoyue, Xia, Xiaolin, Yao, Ling, Jing, Wenlong, Zhou, Chenghu, Huang, Wumeng, Li, Yong, Yang, Ji Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Evaluation of a new snow albedo scheme for the Greenland ice sheet in the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2) van Dalum, Christiaan T., van de Berg, Willem Jan, Lhermitte, Stef, van den Broeke, Michiel R. Albedo, Anisotropy
Consistent retrieval of multiple parameters from GOES-R top of atmosphere reflectance data Xiong, Hengbin, Shi, Hanyu, Xiao, Zhiqiang Albedo, Anisotropy
Estimating spatio-temporal air temperature in London (UK) using machine learning and earth observation satellite data dos Santos, Rochelle Schneider Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Estimation of land surface albedo from MODIS and VIIRS dataA multi-sensor strategy based on the direct estimation algorithm and statistical-based temporal filter Wang, Mengsi, Fan, Xianlei, Li, Xijia, Liu, Qiang, Qu, Ying Albedo, Anisotropy
Forecasting time series albedo using NARnet based on EEMD decomposition Zhang, Guodong, Zhou, Hongmin, Wang, Changjing, Xue, Huazhu, Wang, Jindi, Wan, Huawei Albedo, Anisotropy
Forest age mapping based on multiple-resource remote sensing data Yang, Xiguang, Liu, Yuqi, Wu, Zechuan, Yu, Ying, Li, Fengri, Fan, Wenyi Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Extraction of sub-pixel C3/C4 emissions of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) using artificial neural network Kira, Oz, Sun, Ying Albedo, Anisotropy
Combining Multi-Source Data and Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Wang, Yumiao, Zhang, Zhou, Feng, Luwei, Du, Qingyun, Runge, Troy Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
Performance of GLASS and MODIS Satellite Albedo products in diagnosing Albedo variations during different time scales and special weather conditions in the Tibetan Plateau An, Yingying, Meng, Xianhong, Zhao, Lin, Li, Zhaoguo, Wang, Shaoying, Shang, Lunyu, Chen, Hao, Lyu, Shihua, Li, Guangwei, Ma, Yingsai Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Preliminary selection and characterization of pseudo-invariant calibration sites in northwest China Hu, Xiuqing, Wang, Ling, Wang, Junwei, He, Lingli, Chen, Lin, Xu, Na, Tao, Bingcheng, Zhang, Lu, Zhang, Peng, Lu, Naimeng Albedo, Anisotropy
Present-day Greenland ice sheet climate and surface mass balance in CESM2 van Kampenhout, Leonardus, Lenaerts, Jan T. M., Lipscomb, William H., Lhermitte, Stef, Noel, Brice, Vizcaino, Miren, Sacks, William J., van den Broeke, Michiel R. Albedo, Anisotropy
Multi-physics ensemble snow modelling in the western Himalaya Pritchard, David M. W., Forsythe, Nathan, O'Donnell, Greg, Fowler, Hayley J., Rutter, Nick Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo, Anisotropy
Quality assessment of PROBA-V surface Albedo V1 for the continuity of the copernicus climate change service Sanchez-Zapero, Jorge, Camacho, Fernando, Martinez-Sanchez, Enrique, Lacaze, Roselyne, Carrer, Dominique, Pinault, Florian, Benhadj, Iskander, Munoz-Sabater, Joaquin Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Anisotropy
Mid-level clouds over the Sahara in a convection-permitting regional model Mantsis, Damianos F., Sherwood, Steven, Dixit, Vishal, Morrison, Hugh, Thompson, Greg Albedo, Anisotropy
Re-understanding of land surface albedo and related terms in satellite-based retrievals Shuai, Yanmin, Tuerhanjiang, Latipa, Shao, Congying, Gao, Feng, Zhou, Yuyu, Xie, Donghui, Liu, Tao, Liang, Ji, Chu, Nan Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Terrestrial land-cover type richness is positively linked to landscape-level functioning Oehri, Jacqueline, Schmid, Bernhard, Schaepman-Strub, Gabriela, Niklaus, Pascal A. Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy
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