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Description

The Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Vegetation Indices Monthly (MOD13A3) Version 6.1 data are provided monthly at 1 kilometer (km) spatial resolution as a gridded Level 3 product in the sinusoidal projection. In generating this monthly product, the algorithm ingests all the MOD13A2 products that overlap the month and employs a weighted temporal average.

The MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) complements NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) NDVI products and provides continuity for time series historical applications. MODIS also includes an Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) that minimizes canopy background variations and maintains sensitivity over dense vegetation conditions. The EVI uses the blue band to remove residual atmosphere contamination caused by smoke and sub-pixel thin clouds. The MODIS NDVI and EVI products are computed from surface reflectances corrected for molecular scattering, ozone absorption, and aerosols.

Vegetation indices are used for global monitoring of vegetation conditions and are used in products displaying land cover and land cover changes. These data may be used as input for modeling global biogeochemical and hydrologic processes as well as global and regional climate. Additional applications include characterizing land surface biophysical properties and processes, such as primary production and land cover conversion.

Provided along with the vegetation layers and the two quality assurance (QA) layers are reflectance bands 1 (red), 2 (near-infrared), 3 (blue), and 7 (mid-infrared), as well as three observation layers.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 vegetation indices 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
Instruments
MODIS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
1000 Meters x 1000 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-01 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
C2327962326-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
91847
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Vegetation Index ,
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) ,
Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)

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

Didan, K. (2021). MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13A3.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-23

File Naming Convention

MOD13A3.A2025152.h01v11.061.2025195144044.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD13A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025152), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h01v11), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025195144044), 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
Spatial prediction of emergency supply demand under urban flood disaster events: A case study of the 23 7 rainstorm in Beijing Cai, Xudong, Zhao, Ziyang, Zhang, Wei, Shao, Yang, Chen, Hao, Luo, Min Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
SpatialTemporal Patterns of Methane Emissions from Livestock in Xinjiang During 20002020 Xu, Qixiao, Li, Yumeng, You, Yongfa, Zhang, Lei, Zhang, Haoyu, Zhang, Zeyu, Yao, Yuanzhi, Huang, Ye Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Spatial variations of organic matter concentration in cultivated land Yao, Dongheng, Xie, Enyi, Zhang, Ruqian, Gao, Bingbo, Li, Liang, Zhao, Zhenting, Zhang, Wencai, Liao, Yubo, Lei, Ming, Kong, Xiangbin Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Seasonal variation in the dependence of avian order composition on vegetation characteristics: A case study from Heilongjiang Province, northernmost China Cai, Jiaqi, Ding, Chenyang, An, Qi, He, Yu Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Satellite remote sensing-based analysis of agricultural stubble burning and its impacts on air quality in Haryana. Yadav, Anshul, Kuttippurath, Jayanarayanan, Gopikrishnan, G. S. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Sex-specific resource strategies mediate home range sizes of an endangered carnivore across multiple scales Smith, Matthew M., Veals Dutt, Amanda M., Lombardi, Jason V., Branney, Aidan B., Reeves, Ashley M., Scognamillo, Daniel G., Sergeyev, Maksim, Wardle, Zachary M., Tewes, Michael E., Petracca, Lisanne S. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Substantial increases in burned area in circumboreal forests from 1983 Stephens, Connor W., Ives, Anthony R., Radeloff, Volker C. Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Targeting malaria in high-risk populations in low endemic regions in northern Namibia: a quasi-experimental controlled trial to reduce malaria in seasonal agricultural workers and cattle herders Smith, Jennifer L, Ntuku, Henry, Rerolle, Francois, Burke, Ashley Morgan, Mwema, Tabeth, Turcios, Keirstinne, Uusiku, Petrina, Haikali, Justine Kulla, Lifasi, Michael, Smith-Gueye, Cara, Vajda, Elodie, Jacobson, Jerry O, Greenhouse, Bryan, Gosling, Roly, Bennett, Adam, Mumbengegwi, Davis R Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Revealing joint evolutions and causal interactions in complex Wang, Lu, Gu, Haiting, Liu, Li, Liang, Xiao, Chen, Siwei, Xu, Yue-Ping Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Revealing the dual impacts of climate change and grazing on vegetation LA, Yun-E, Wu, Tong-Hua, Bagan, Hasi, Zhu, Xiao-Fan, Wu, Xiao-Dong, Lou, Pei-Qing, Wang, Dong, Adiya, Saruulzaya, DASHTSEREN, Avirmed, Dorjgotov, Battogtokh, Mandakh, Urtnasan, Bayarsaikhan, Sainbuyan Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Soil erosion susceptibility maps and raster dataset for the hydrological basins of North Africa Salhi, Adil, Benabdelouahab, Sara, Heggy, Essam Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Social-Ecological Factors and Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs/Synergies in Yang, Xiaoyuan, Zhang, Zhonghua, Zhou, Huakun, Liu, Fanglin, Yu, Hongyan, Zhao, Baowei, Wang, Xianying, Li, Honglin, Shi, Zhengchen Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Research on the influencing factors of PM2.5 in China at Chen, Meiru, Liu, Jun, Chu, Biwu, Zhao, Di, Li, Ruiyu, Chen, Tianzeng, Ma, Qingxin, Wang, Yonghong, Zhang, Peng, Li, Hao, He, Hong Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Runoff component quantification and future streamflow projection in a large mountainous basin based on a multidata-constrained cryospherichydrological model Zhang, Mengjiao, Nan, Yi, Tian, Fuqiang Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Sensitivity of land-type variations across Canada using S-5p products Bhatnagar, Saheba, Sha, Mahesh Kumar, Silva, Mariana, Gill, Laurence, Langerock, Bavo, Ghosh, Bidisha Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Vulnerability Assessment and Differentiated Regulation of Rural Xi, Xin, Shi, Xiaona, Wang, Tielin, Wang, Xinyi, Huang, Ke Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Utilizing a vegetation restoration potential model to derive a reference Yang, Xiaoyuan, Zhou, Huakun, Liu, Fanglin Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Variability increased underneath growth enhancement of Mongolian pine Li, Ming-Yong, Wang, Miao, Li, Na, Ge, Jin-Nan, Hao, Guang-You Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Two-stage downscaling and correction cascade learning framework for Li, Jie, Wei, Yingtao, Lin, Liupeng, Yuan, Qiangqiang, Shen, Huanfeng Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Albedo, Anisotropy
Unprecedented UK heatwave harmonised drivers of fuel moisture creating extreme temperate wildfire risk Ivison, Katy, Little, Kerryn, Orpin, Alice, Belcher, Claire M., Clay, Gareth D., Doerr, Stefan H., Smith, Thomas E. L., Andersen, Roxane, Graham, Laura J., Kettridge, Nicholas Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Unraveling urban surface heat dynamics through deep ensemble machine Han, Guansheng, Zhang, Jiqing, Gao, Yuan, Zhang, Min, Chen, Min, Liu, Yanming Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Thresholding species distribution models: Simple approaches for land-use Abdel Moniem, Hossam Eldien, Mallon, Chris, Allen, Brandon, Littlefair, Carter, Leston, Lionel, Azeria, Ermias, Petty, Aaron, Pendlebury, Danielle Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Thrive or Wither: Exploring the Impacts of Multiyear Droughts on Ruijsch, Denise, van Mourik, Jonna, Biemans, Hester, Hauswirth, Sandra Margrit, Wanders, Niko Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Planted Forests in China Have Higher Drought Risk Than Natural Forests Ma, Longlong, Ma, Jun, Yan, Pu, Tian, Feng, Penuelas, Josep, Rao, Mukund Palat, Fu, Yongshuo, Hu, Zhenhong Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Carbon, Cation Exchange Capacity, Organic Matter
Post-fire spectral recovery and driving factors across the boreal and Li, Li Kai, Liu, Zhihua, Xu, Wenru, Wang, Wenjuan, Su, Jiajia, Lv, Qiushuang, Guo, Wenhua, Johnson, Marie Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
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