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Description

The Terra and Aqua combined MCD64A1 Version 6.1 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

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 Burned Area 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
2000-11-01 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
C2565786756-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
81460
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Fire Ecology ,
Biomass Burning ,
Wildfires ,
Fire Occurrence ,
Burned Area

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. (2021). MODIS/Terra+Aqua Burned Area Monthly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD64A1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-19

File Naming Convention

MCD64A1.A2025152.h06v03.061.2025220161136.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD64A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025152), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h06v03), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025220161136), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT VALIDATION

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Use Worldview to Determine Fire Affected Areas in NRT Using MODIS and VIIRS

This tutorial shows how using Worldview, MODIS Bands 7-2-1 and VIIRS M11-I2-I1 Corrected Reflectance Imagery can be viewed in combination with the active fire data to identify fire-affected areas that are characterized by deposits of charcoal and ash, removal of vegetation and/or alteration of vegetation structure.
Tutorial
Aug. 26, 2013
MODIS 7-2-1

FIRMS - Use ArcGIS to Determine Fire Affected Areas in NRT Using MODIS and VIIRS

This tutorial shows how using ArcGIS Pro, MODIS Bands 7-2-1 and VIIRS M11-I2-I1 Corrected Reflectance Imagery can be viewed in combination with the active fire data to identify fire-affected areas that are characterized by deposits of charcoal and ash, removal of vegetation and/or alteration of vegetation structure.
Tutorial
Aug. 26, 2013
SHOWING 3 OF 3

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
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)
Deforestation and burning in the state of Amapa between the years 2001 and 2019 Caric, Gabriela Sousa, Rocha, Genival Fernandes, Belem, Fabiano Luis, Araujo, Fernando Moreira de Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Determining fire frequency and its relationship with rangeland aboveground grass biomass using MODIS and Landsat imagery Munyati, C., Mashego, T. C. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Improving wildland fire spread prediction using deep U-Nets Khennou, Fadoua, Akhloufi, Moulay A. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
In a rough spot: Declines in Arthroleptella rugosa calling densities are Angus, Oliver, Turner, Andrew A., Measey, John Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
High-resolution data reveal a surge of biomass loss from temperate and Atlantic pine forests, contextualizing the 2022 fire season distinctiveness in France Vallet, Lilian, Schwartz, Martin, Ciais, Philippe, van Wees, Dave, de Truchis, Aurelien, Mouillot, Florent Terrain Elevation, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Topographical Relief Maps, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds
High-Resolution Semantic Segmentation of Woodland Fires Using Residual Shirvani, Zeinab, Abdi, Omid, Goodman, Rosa C. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
A data-driven evaluation of post-fire landslide susceptibility Culler, Elsa S., Livneh, Ben, Rajagopalan, Balaji, Tiampo, Kristy F. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Maximum/Minimum Temperature, 24 Hour Precipitation Amount, Snow Water Equivalent, Shortwave Radiation, Vapor Pressure
Drivers of small-mammal community structure in tropical savannas Bergstrom, Bradley J., Dickman, Christopher R., Monadjem, Ara, Vieira, Emerson M. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Division of the tropical savanna fire season into early and late dry season burning using MODIS active fires Eames, Tom, Vernooij, Roland, Russell-Smith, Jeremy, Yates, Cameron, Edwards, Andrew, van der Werf, Guido R. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Eco-morphodynamic carbon pumping by the largest rivers in the Neotropics Salerno, Luca, Vezza, Paolo, Perona, Paolo, Camporeale, Carlo Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Assessing Long-Term Rangeland Fire Frequency And Grass Biomass Using Modis And Landsat Images Munyati, Chris, Mashego, Tebelelo Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Changes in How Climate Forces the Vegetation of Southern Africa Higgins, Steven I., Conradi, Timo, Ongole, Shasank, Turpie, Jane, Weiss, Joshua, Eggli, Urs, Slingsby, Jasper A. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Much faster warming-tracking rate of the latitudinal forest line in North America than that in Eurasia under the early 21st century's warming Wang, Mengjie, Lu, Zihan, Cong, Nan, Chen, Anping Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
National ground-level NO2 predictions via satellite imagery driven convolutional neural networks Cao, Elton L. Population Density, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Nest-site selection model for endangered Everglade snail kites to inform Benscoter, Allison M., D'Acunto, Laura E., Haider, Saira M., Fletcher, Robert J., Romanach, Stephanie S. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
MCD64A1 Burnt Area Dataset Assessment using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 on Google Earth Engine: A Case Study in Rompin, Pahang in Malaysia Chew, Yee Jian, Ooi, Shih Yin, Pang, Ying Han Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Measuring Understory Fire Effects from Space: Canopy Change in Response East, Alyson, Hansen, Andrew, Armenteras, Dolors, Jantz, Patrick, Roberts, David W. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Lidar, Forest Composition/Vegetation Structure, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Canopy Characteristics
Agricultural expansion dominates rapid increases in cropland fires in Asia Xu, Chao, You, Chao Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds
all-hazards dataset mined from the US National Incident Management System 19992020 St. Denis, Lise A., Short, Karen C., McConnell, Kathryn, Cook, Maxwell C., Mietkiewicz, Nathan P., Buckland, Mollie, Balch, Jennifer K. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
A Review of Speleothems as Archives for Paleofire Proxies, With Campbell, Micheline, McDonough, Liza, Treble, Pauline C., Baker, Andy, Kosarac, Nevena, Coleborn, Katie, Wynn, Peter M., Schmitt, Axel K. Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
A near real-time web-system for predicting fire spread across the Cerrado biome Oliveira, Ubirajara, Soares-Filho, Britaldo, Rodrigues, Hermann, Figueira, Danilo, Gomes, Leticia, Leles, William, Berlinck, Christian, Morelli, Fabiano, Bustamante, Mercedes, Ometto, Jean, Miranda, Heloisa Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Reflectance
A novel, post-Soviet fire disturbance regime drives bird diversity and Bhagwat, Tejas, Kuemmerle, Tobias, Soofi, Mahmood, Donald, Paul F., Holzel, Norbert, Salemgareev, Albert, Stirnemann, Ingrid, Urazaliyev, Ruslan, Baumann, Matthias, Kamp, Johannes Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain
Global scale coupling of pyromes and fire regimes Pais, Cristobal, Gonzalez-Olabarria, Jose Ramon, Elimbi Moudio, Pelagie, Garcia-Gonzalo, Jordi, Gonzalez, Marta C., Shen, Zuo-Jun Max Population Density, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Fire Dynamics
Land degradation in the European UnionWhere does the evidence converge? Gianoli, Federico, Weynants, Melanie, Cherlet, Michael Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
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