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Description

The MCD64A1 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD64A1 Version 6.1 data product.

The Terra and Aqua combined MCD64A1 Version 6 Burned Area data product is a monthly, global gridded 500 meter (m) product containing per-pixel burned-area and quality information. The MCD64A1 burned-area mapping approach employs 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Surface Reflectance imagery coupled with 1 kilometer (km) MODIS active fire observations. The algorithm uses a burn sensitive Vegetation Index (VI) to create dynamic thresholds that are applied to the composite data. The VI is derived from MODIS shortwave infrared atmospherically corrected surface reflectance bands 5 and 7 with a measure of temporal texture. The algorithm identifies the date of burn for the 500 m grid cells within each individual MODIS tile. The date is encoded in a single data layer as the ordinal day of the calendar year on which the burn occurred with values assigned to unburned land pixels and additional special values reserved for missing data and water grid cells.

The data layers provided in the MCD64A1 product include Burn Date, Burn Data Uncertainty, Quality Assurance, along with First Day and Last Day of reliable change detection of the year.

Known Issues

  • Known issues are described on the MODIS Land Quality Assessment website and in Section 8 of the User Guide which covers Cropland Burning, the August 2000 and June 2001 Data Outages, and the August 2020 Aqua Outage.

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6 burned area data products: (1) The product is now generated using an improved version of the MCD64 burned area mapping algorithm (Giglio et al., 2009), i.e., MCD64A1 will be adopted as the standard MODIS burned area product for Collection 6. The MCD45A1 product will not be generated beyond Collection 5.1, (2) The product is generated using Version 6 surface reflectance and active fire input data, (3) General improvement (reduced omission error) in burned area detection, including significantly better detection of small burns, (4) Modest reduction in burn-date temporal uncertainty, (5) Significant reduction in the occurrence of unclassified grid cells due to algorithm changes and refinements in the upstream Version 6 input data, (6) Product coverage expanded from 219 to 268 MODIS tiles, and (7) Expanded per-pixel Quality Assurance (QA) product layer.

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
2000-11-01 to 2022-12-31
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
C2763297163-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Fire Ecology ,
Biomass Burning ,
Wildfires ,
Fire Occurrence

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

Giglio, L., Justice, C., Boschetti, L., & Roy, D. (2015). MCD64A1 MODIS/Terra+Aqua Burned Area Monthly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD64A1.006 Date Accessed: 2026-05-20

File Naming Convention

MCD64A1.A2002244.h11v12.006.2017013095459.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD64A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002244), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h11v12), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2017013095459), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
How wildfires increase sensitivity of Amazon forests to droughts Le Roux, Renan, Wagner, Fabien, Blanc, Lilian, Betbeder, Julie, Gond, Valery, Dessard, Helene, Funatzu, Beatriz, Bourgoin, Clement, Cornu, Guillaume, Herault, Bruno, Montfort, Frederique, Sist, Plinio, Begue, Agnes, Dubreuil, Vincent, Laurent, Francois, Messner, Francois, Fadhil Hasan, Ali, Arvor, Damien Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Improved detection of abrupt change in vegetation reveals dominant fractional woody cover decline in Eastern Africa Abera, Temesgen Alemayehu, Heiskanen, Janne, Maeda, Eduardo Eiji, Hailu, Binyam Tesfaw, Pellikka, Petri K.E. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Population Density, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Increased burned area in the Pantanal over the past two decades Correa, Danielle Blazys, Alcantara, Enner, Libonati, Renata, Massi, Klecia Gili, Park, Edward Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
How much of a pixel needs to burn to be detected by satellites? A spectral modeling experiment based on ecosystem data from Yellowstone National Park, USA Riet, Mats, Veraverbeke, Sander Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Hospitalization Due to Fire-Induced Pollution in the Brazilian Legal Campanharo, Wesley Augusto, Morello, Thiago, Christofoletti, Maria A. M., Anderson, Liana O. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Impacts of burn severity on short-term postfire vegetation recovery, surface albedo, and land surface temperature in California ecoregions Rother, David E., De Sales, Fernando, Stow, Doug, McFadden, Joe Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
A compound event-oriented framework to tropical fire risk assessment in a changing climate Ribeiro, Andreia F S, Brando, Paulo M, Santos, Lucas, Rattis, Ludmila, Hirschi, Martin, Hauser, Mathias, Seneviratne, Sonia I, Zscheischler, Jakob Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Detecting fire-caused forest loss in a Moroccan protected area Castro, Iliana, Stan, Amanda B., Taiqui, Lahcen, Schiefer, Erik, Ghallab, Abdelilah, Derak, Mchich, Fule, Peter Z. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Drought limits large trees in African savannas with or without elephants Jones, Maggie M., Fletcher, Robert, Kruger, Laurence, Monadjem, Ara, Simelane, Phumlile, McCleery, Robert Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Assessing model predictions of carbon dynamics in global drylands Fawcett, Dominic, Cunliffe, Andrew M., Sitch, Stephen, OSullivan, Michael, Anderson, Karen, Brazier, Richard E., Hill, Timothy C., Anthoni, Peter, Arneth, Almut, Arora, Vivek K., Briggs, Peter R., Goll, Daniel S., Jain, Atul K., Li, Xiaojun, Lombardozzi, Danica, Nabel, Julia E. M. S., Poulter, Benjamin, Seferian, Roland, Tian, Hanqin, Viovy, Nicolas, Wigneron, Jean-Pierre, Wiltshire, Andy, Zaehle, Soenke Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Anthropogenic and lightning fire incidence and burned area in Europe Dijkstra, Jasper, Durrant, Tracy, San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jesus, Veraverbeke, Sander Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Climatic legacy effects on the drought response of the Amazon rainforest Van Passel, Johanna, de Keersmaecker, Wanda, Bernardino, Paulo N., Jing, Xin, Umlauf, Nikolaus, Van Meerbeek, Koenraad, Somers, Ben Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo, RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Topographical Relief Maps, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Burned Area
Changes in the spatial patterns of burned area in Colombia, what happened in the first two decades of the 21st century? Armenteras, Dolors Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Catastrophic PM2. 5 emissions from Siberian forest fires: Impacting factors analysis Romanov, Aleksey A., Tamarovskaya, Anastasia N., Gusev, Boris A., Leonenko, Egor V., Vasiliev, Alexander S., Krikunov, Elijah E. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Monthly mapping of forest harvesting using dense time series Sentinel-1 SAR imagery and deep learning Zhao, Feng, Sun, Rui, Zhong, Liheng, Meng, Ran, Huang, Chengquan, Zeng, Xiaoxi, Wang, Mengyu, Li, Yaxin, Wang, Ziyang Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Intentions behind common and risky fires in south-eastern Tanzania Wood, Ellie, Mgaya, Mercy, Andrews, Christopher, Schreckenberg, Kate, Fisher, Janet A, Grundy, Isla, Ryan, Casey M Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Madagascar's fire regimes challenge global assumptions about landscape degradation Phelps, Leanne N., Andela, Niels, Gravey, Mathieu, Davis, Dylan S., Kull, Christian A., Douglass, Kristina, Lehmann, Caroline E. R. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Reflectance, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Mapping native and non-native vegetation in the Brazilian Cerrado using freely available satellite products Lewis, Kennedy, de V. Barros, Fernanda, Cure, Marcio B., Davies, Christian A., Furtado, Mariana N., Hill, Timothy C., Hirota, Marina, Martins, Demetrius L., Mazzochini, Guilherme G., Mitchard, Edward T. A., Munhoz, Cassia B. R., Oliveira, Rafael S., Sampaio, Alexandre B., Saraiva, Nicholas A., Schmidt, Isabel B., Rowland, Lucy Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities Ralimanana, Helene, Perrigo, Allison L., Smith, Rhian J., Borrell, James S., Faurby, Sren, Rajaonah, Mamy Tiana, Randriamboavonjy, Tianjanahary, Vorontsova, Maria S., Cooke, Robert S. C., Phelps, Leanne N., Sayol, Ferran, Andela, Niels, Andermann, Tobias, Andriamanohera, Andotiana M., Andriambololonera, Sylvie, Bachman, Steven P., Bacon, Christine D., Baker, William J., Belluardo, Francesco, Birkinshaw, Chris, Cable, Stuart, Canales, Nataly A., Carrillo, Juan D., Clegg, Rosie, Clubbe, Colin, Crottini, Angelica, Damasco, Gabriel, Dhanda, Sonia, Edler, Daniel, Farooq, Harith, de Lima Ferreira, Paola, Fisher, Brian L., Forest, Felix, Gardiner, Lauren M., Goodman, Steven M., Grace, Olwen M., Guedes, Thais B., Hackel, Jan, Henniges, Marie C., Hill, Rowena, Lehmann, Caroline E. R., Lowry, Porter P., Marline, Lovanomenjanahary, Matos-Maravi, Pavel, Moat, Justin, Neves, Beatriz, Nogueira, Matheus G. C., Onstein, Renske E., Papadopulos, Alexander S. T., Perez-Escobar, Oscar A., Phillipson, Peter B., Pironon, Samuel, Przelomska, Natalia A. S., Rabarimanarivo, Marina, Rabehevitra, David, Raharimampionona, Jeannie, Rajaonary, Fano, Rajaovelona, Landy R., Rakotoarinivo, Mijoro, Rakotoarisoa, Amedee A., Rakotoarisoa, Solofo E., Rakotomalala, Herizo N., Rakotonasolo, Franck, Ralaiveloarisoa, Berthe A., Ramirez-Herranz, Myriam, Randriamamonjy, Jean Emmanuel N., Randrianasolo, Vonona, Rasolohery, Andriambolantsoa, Ratsifandrihamanana, Anitry N., Ravololomanana, Noro, Razafiniary, Velosoa, Razanajatovo, Henintsoa, Razanatsoa, Estelle, Rivers, Malin, Silvestro, Daniele, Testo, Weston, Torres Jimenez, Maria F., Walker, Kim, Walker, Barnaby E., Wilkin, Paul, Williams, Jenny, Ziegler, Thomas, Zizka, Alexander, Antonelli, Alexandre Population Density, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Observation-based assessment of secondary water effects on seasonal vegetation decay across Africa Kucuk, Caglar, Koirala, Sujan, Carvalhais, Nuno, Miralles, Diego G., Reichstein, Markus, Jung, Martin Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover
An insight into the patterns and controls of the structure of South America
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An interactive system to map land degradation and inform decisionmaking to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality via convergence of evidence across scales: a ... Teich, Ingrid, Harari, Nicole, Caza, Pablo, HenaoHenao, Juan Pablo, Lopez, Juan Calles, Raviolo, Eugenia, DiazGonzalez, Ana Maria, Gonzalez, Hernan, Bastidas, Soledad, MoralesOpazo, Cristian, Garcia, Cesar Luis Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain
A global forest reference set with time series annual change information from 2000 to 2020 Guo, Jing, Zhu, Zhiliang, Gong, Peng Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Analysis of the Lower Volga floodplain landscapes burning according to active fire and burnt areas satellite data Berdengalieva, Asel Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Fuel-specific aggregation of active fire detections for rapid mapping of forest fire perimeters in Mexico Briones-Herrera, Carlos Ivan, Vega-Nieva, Daniel Jose, Briseno-Reyes, Jaime, Monjaras-Vega, Norma Angelica, Lopez-Serrano, Pablito Marcelo, Corral-Rivas, Jose Javier, Alvarado, Ernesto, Arellano-Perez, Stefano, Jardel Pelaez, Enrique J., Perez Salicrup, Diego Rafael, Jolly, William Matthew Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
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