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Description

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A4 Version 6.1 Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) dataset is produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS data at 500 meter (m) resolution. The view angle effects are removed from the directional reflectances, resulting in a stable and consistent NBAR product. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth 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 MCD43A4 provides NBAR and simplified mandatory quality layers for MODIS bands 1 through 7. 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
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
C2218719731-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
2943239
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
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 Nadir BRDF Adjusted Ref Daily L3 Global - 500m V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A4.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-15

File Naming Convention

MCD43A4.A2025212.h04v10.061.2025221032559.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A4) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025212), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h04v10), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025221032559), 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
Corn yield prediction and uncertainty analysis based on remotely sensed variables using a Bayesian neural network approach Ma, Yuchi, Zhang, Zhou, Kang, Yanghui, Ozdogan, Mutlu Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Potential of hotspot solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence for better tracking terrestrial photosynthesis Hao, Dalei, Asrar, Ghassem R., Zeng, Yelu, Yang, Xi, Li, Xing, Xiao, Jingfeng, Guan, Kaiyu, Wen, Jianguang, Xiao, Qing, Berry, Joseph A., Chen, Min Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Local climatic and environmental effects of an onshore wind farm in North China Luo, Lihui, Zhuang, Yanli, Duan, Quntao, Dong, Longxiang, Yu, Ye, Liu, Yonghong, Chen, Keren, Gao, Xiaoqing Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Mind the Gap: Generating Imputations for Satellite Data Collections at Khandelwal, Paahuni, Rammer, Daniel, Pallickara, Shrideep, Pallickara, Sangmi Lee Reflectance, Anisotropy
Modelling wildfire occurrence at regional scale from land use/cover and Vilar, L., Herrera, S., Tafur-Garcia, E., Yebra, M., Martinez-Vega, J., Echavarria, P., Martin, M.P. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Modeling vegetation water stress over the forest from spaceTemperature vegetation water stress index (TVWSI) Joshi, Rakesh Chandra, Ryu, Dongryeol, Sheridan, Gary J., Lane, Patrick N. J. Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Anisotropy
Multisensor fusion of remotely sensed vegetation indices using Johnson, Margaret C, Reich, Brian J, Gray, Josh M Reflectance, Anisotropy
Monitoring tree-crown scale autumn leaf phenology in a temperate forest with an integration of PlanetScope and drone remote sensing observations Wu, Shengbiao, Wang, Jing, Yan, Zhengbing, Song, Guangqin, Chen, Yang, Ma, Qin, Deng, Meifeng, Wu, Yuntao, Zhao, Yingyi, Guo, Zhengfei, Yuan, Zuoqiang, Dai, Guanhua, Xu, Xiangtao, Yang, Xi, Su, Yanjun, Liu, Lingli, Wu, Jin Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Making Landsat 5, 7 and 8 reflectance consistent using MODIS nadir-BRDF adjusted reflectance as reference Che, Xianghong, Zhang, Hankui K., Liu, Jiping Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Live fuel moisture content estimation from MODIS: A deep learning Zhu, Liujun, Webb, Geoffrey I., Yebra, Marta, Scortechini, Gianluca, Miller, Lynn, Petitjean, Francois Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Reflectance, Anisotropy
Land cover composition, climate, and topography drive land surface phenology in a recently burned landscape: An application of machine learning in phenological ... Wang, Jianmin, Zhang, Xiaoyang, Rodman, Kyle Reflectance, Anisotropy, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Albedo
Climate change induced declines in fuel moisture may turn currently fire-free Pyrenean mountain forests into fire-prone ecosystems Resco de Dios, Victor, Hedo, Javier, Cunill Camprubi, Angel, Thapa, Prakash, Martinez del Castillo, Edurne, Martinez de Aragon, Juan, Bonet, Jose Antonio, Balaguer-Romano, Rodrigo, Diaz-Sierra, Ruben, Yebra, Marta, Boer, Matthias M. Reflectance, Anisotropy
Using the California waterfowl tracker to assess proximity of waterfowl to commercial poultry in the Central Valley of California Acosta, Sarai, Kelman, Todd, Feirer, Shane, Matchett, Elliott, Smolinsky, Jaclyn, Pitesky, Maurice, Buler, Jeffrey Reflectance, Anisotropy
Winter snow and spring temperature have differential effects on vegetation phenology and productivity across Arctic plant communities Kelsey, Katharine C., Pedersen, Stine Hjlund, Leffler, A. Joshua, Sexton, Joseph O., Feng, Min, Welker, Jeffrey M. Reflectance, Anisotropy
Solar position confounds the relationship between ecosystem function and vegetation indices derived from solar and photosynthetically active radiation fluxes Rocha, Adrian V., Appel, Rose, Bret-Harte, M. Syndonia, Euskirchen, Eugenie S., Salmon, Verity, Shaver, Gaius Reflectance, Anisotropy
Reanalysis Surface Mass Balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet Along KTransect (20002014) Navari, Mahdi, Margulis, Steven A., Tedesco, Marco, Fettweis, Xavier, van de Wal, Roderik S. W. Reflectance, Anisotropy
Reviews and syntheses: Ongoing and emerging opportunities to improve environmental science using observations from the Advanced Baseline Imager on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites Khan, Anam M., Stoy, Paul C., Douglas, James T., Anderson, Martha, Diak, George, Otkin, Jason A., Hain, Christopher, Rehbein, Elizabeth M., McCorkel, Joel Reflectance, Anisotropy
Remote sensing of environmental risk factors for malaria in different McMahon, Andrea, Mihretie, Abere, Ahmed, Adem Agmas, Lake, Mastewal, Awoke, Worku, Wimberly, Michael Charles Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo
Production of global daily seamless data cubes and quantification of global land cover change from 1985 to 2020 - iMap World 1.0 Liu, Han, Gong, Peng, Wang, Jie, Wang, Xi, Ning, Grant, Xu, Bing Reflectance, Anisotropy
Spatiotemporal integration of mobile, satellite, and public geospatial data for enhanced credit scoring Simumba, Naomi, Okami, Suguru, Kodaka, Akira, Kohtake, Naohiko Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Spatio-temporal patterns of extreme fires in Amazonian forests Cano-Crespo, Ana, Traxl, Dominik, Thonicke, Kirsten Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES
Spatiotemporal image fusion in Google Earth Engine for annual estimates of land surface phenology in a heterogenous landscape Nietupski, Ty C., Kennedy, Robert E., Temesgen, Hailemariam, Kerns, Becky K. Reflectance, Anisotropy
Reconstructing daily 30 m NDVI over complex agricultural landscapes using a crop reference curve approach Sun, Liang, Gao, Feng, Xie, Donghui, Anderson, Martha, Chen, Ruiqing, Yang, Yun, Yang, Yang, Chen, Zhongxin Reflectance, Anisotropy
Using artificial neural network algorithm and remote sensing vegetation index improves the accuracy of the Penman-Monteith equation to estimate cropland evapotranspiration Liu, Yan, Zhang, Sha, Zhang, Jiahua, Tang, Lili, Bai, Yun Reflectance, Anisotropy
Unveiling the factors responsible for Australias black summer fires of 2019/2020 Levin, Noam, Yebra, Marta, Phinn, Stuart Reflectance, Anisotropy, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
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