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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
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
2000-11-01 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 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD64A1.006 Date Accessed: 2026-07-05

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

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Forest fire risk assessment model optimized by stochastic average Fu, Zexin, Gong, Adu, Wan, Jinhong, Ba, Wanru, Wang, Haihan, Zhang, Jiaming Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Flood-Fire Interplays in Wetlands: The Rising of an Actionable Field of Study Damasceno-Junior, Geraldo Alves, Pereira, Alexandre de Matos Martins, Saharjo, Bambang Hero, Archibald, Sally, Zhang, Beibei, Bilbao, Bibiana, dos Santos Ferreira, Bruno Henrique, Kairumba, Carol Kagaba, Ribeiro, Danilo Bandini, Campbell, David G., Njoroge, Denis Mburu, Twinomujuni, Dennis, Jaafar, Salwana Md., Njunge, Dickson, Bao, Francielli, Bortolotto, Ieda Maria, Torres, Javier, Dufitumukiza, Joseph Desire, Austin, Kemen G., Taboko, Lucy, Winton, Scott, da Rosa Oliveira, Maxwell, Picon Ruiz, Monique M., Posada, Juan Manuel, Aline, Mucyo Namahoro, Munishi, Pantaleo K.T., Meller, Paulina, Parolin, Pia, Ulimboka, Rehema, Libonati, Renata, da Silva, Rosa Helena, Jenkins, Shona, Yule, Tamires Soares, Damascene, Jeansen, Antonio, Telmo Ernesto Meneses, de Almeida Souza, Allan Henrique, Yule, Catherine Mary, de Oliveira Roque, Fabio Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Fuels Mediate the Influence of Climate Teleconnections on Wildfires in Dryland Ecosystems Qu, Yuquan, Veraverbeke, Sander, Miralles, Diego G., Fan, Jingfang, Vereecken, Harry, Montzka, Carsten Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Surface Temperature, Surface Thermal Properties, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Firestorm in California: The new reality for wildland-urban interface regions Amiri, Afshin, Gumiere, Silvio, Bonakdari, Hossein Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Fire weather severity in southern Africa is increasing faster and more extensively in the late than in the early dry season Catarino, Silvia, Silva, Joao M. N., Neves, Alana K., Oom, Duarte, Pereira, Jose M. C. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Evaluation of modeled smoke plumes of wildfires in the Argentinian Garcia Ferreyra, Maria Fernanda, Scavuzzo, Carlos Marcelo, Otero, Lidia Ana, Curci, Gabriele 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
Global alternatives of natural vegetation cover Bastin, Jean-Francois, Latte, Nicolas, Bogaert, Jan, Garcia, Claude A., Berzaghi, Fabio, Maestre, Fernando T., Svenning, Jens-Christian, Assede, Emeline, Barima, Sabas, Besisa, Timothee, Bouchoms, Samuel, Crowther, Thomas W., de Haulleville, Thales, de Lame, Hugo, Depoortere, Pauline, Dufrene, Marc, Hoek Van Dijke, Anne J., Lhoest, Simon, Mahy, Gregory, Messier, Christian, Mollicone, Danilo, Ramalason, Felana Nantenaina, Peaucelle, Marc, Plumacker, Antoine, Quetier, Fabien, Rakotondrasoa, Olivia, Sambieni, Kouagou Raoul, Sparrow, Ben, Tarelkin, Yegor, Sikuzani, Yannick Useni, Vander Linden, Arthur, Lejeune, Philippe Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Evenness peaks in fire-resilient vegetation preceded ecosystem shifts in Aleman, Julie C, Garcin, Yannick, Vanniere, Boris, Vullien, Antoine, Williamson, David, Carcaillet, Christopher Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Generation of 30 m resolution monthly burned area product in Africa Huang, Shunguo, Long, Tengfei, Zhang, Zhaoming, He, Guojin, Wang, Guizhou Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration Sasmito, Sigit D., Taillardat, Pierre, Adinugroho, Wahyu C., Krisnawati, Haruni, Novita, Nisa, Fatoyinbo, Lola, Friess, Daniel A., Page, Susan E., Lovelock, Catherine E., Murdiyarso, Daniel, Taylor, David, Lupascu, Massimo Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Heat-amplifying boreal forests exacerbate snowmelt, fuel availability Lee, Ju Hyoung, Yebra, Marta, Matin, Mir, AghaKouchak, Amir Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Albedo, Snow Cover
mapme.biodiversity: Efficient Monitoring of Global Biodiversity Portfolios Gorgen, Darius A., Bhandari, Om Prakash Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Long-Term Satellite Monitoring of Various Types of Wildfires and Wildfire-Induced Emissions of Climate-Active Gases and Aerosols in Russia and in Its Large Regions Bondur, V. G., Zima, A. L., Feoktistova, N. V. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Burned Area
Intercomparison of Air Quality Models in a Megacity: Toward an Deroubaix, Adrien, Hoelzemann, Judith J., Ynoue, Rita Yuri, Toledo de Almeida Albuquerque, Taciana, Alves, Rafaela Cruz, de Fatima Andrade, Maria, Andreao, Willian Lemker, Bouarar, Idir, de Souza Fernandes Duarte, Edicle, Elbern, Hendrik, Franke, Philipp, Lange, Anne Caroline, Lichtig, Pablo, Lugon, Lya, Martins, Leila D., de Arruda Moreira, Gregori, Pedruzzi, Rizzieri, Rosario, Nilton, Brasseur, Guy Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Integrating habitat suitability, disturbance, and biotic interactions into the ecological restoration of the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) in drylands of the southwest of ... Albuquerque, Fabio Suzart de, Rowe, Helen, Burquez, Alberto, Rey Benayas, Jose Maria Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Increasing numbers of global change stressors reduce soil carbon worldwide Saez-Sandino, Tadeo, Maestre, Fernando T., Berdugo, Miguel, Gallardo, Antonio, Plaza, Cesar, Garcia-Palacios, Pablo, Guirado, Emilio, Zhou, Guiyao, Mueller, Carsten W., Tedersoo, Leho, Crowther, T. W., Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel Population Density, Animal Manure and Waste, Conservation, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Influence of precipitation and temperature on burned areas in the agricultural and cattle ranching frontier of the Brazilian Amazon Moreira, Rodrigo Martins, Martins, Ruan Almeida Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Human risk to tick encounters in the southeastern United States estimated with spatial distribution modeling Butler, Rebecca A., Papes, Mona, Vogt, James T., Paulsen, Dave J., Crowe, Christopher, Trout Fryxell, Rebecca T. Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Biomass, Litter Characteristics, Carbon, Forests, Runoff, Soil Texture, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Burned Area
Satellite Monitoring of Post-Fire Normalized Burn Ratio Dynamics in Forests in the South of Central Siberia Khakassian State University; Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS, Shvetsov, E.G. Reflectance, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Repeat GEDI footprints measure the effects of tropical forest disturbances Holcomb, Amelia, Burns, Patrick, Keshav, Srinivasan, Coomes, David A. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), VIEWING GEOMETRY, Terrain Elevation, Forests, Evergreen Vegetation, Deciduous Vegetation, Shrubland/Scrub, Biomass, Grasslands, LIDAR WAVEFORM
Record-breaking fire weather in North America in 2021 was initiated by the Pacific northwest heat dome Jain, Piyush, Sharma, Aseem Raj, Acuna, Dante Castellanos, Abatzoglou, John T., Flannigan, Mike Population Size, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Vegetation Index, Landscape Patterns, Air Quality, Particulates, Dust/Ash/Smoke, Particulate Matter, Particulate Matter Concentrations
Recovery Following Recurrent Fires Across Mediterranean Ecosystems Ermitao, Tiago, Gouveia, Celia M., Bastos, Ana, Russo, Ana C. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Precipitation-induced abrupt decrease of Siberian wildfire in summer Cho, Yeonsoo, Yoon, Jin-Ho, Jeong, Jee-Hoon, Kug, Jong-Seong, Kim, Baek-Min, Kim, Hyungjun, Park, Rokjin J, Kim, Sang-Woo Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES
Predicting potential fire severity in Turkiye's diverse forested areas: a SHAP-integrated random forest classification approach Eker, Remzi, Aydn, Abdurrahim Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Pyrogeography in flux: Reorganization of Australian fire regimes in a Cunningham, Calum X., Williamson, Grant J., Nolan, Rachael H., Teckentrup, Lina, Boer, Matthias M., Bowman, David M. J. S. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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