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Description

The MOD16A2 Version 6.1 Evapotranspiration/Latent Heat Flux product is an 8-day composite dataset produced at 500 meter (m) pixel resolution. The algorithm used for the MOD16 data product collection is based on the logic of the Penman-Monteith equation, which includes inputs of daily meteorological reanalysis data along with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remotely sensed data products such as vegetation property dynamics, albedo, and land cover.

Provided in the MOD16A2 product are layers for composited Evapotranspiration (ET), Latent Heat Flux (LE), Potential ET (PET) and Potential LE (PLE) along with a quality control layer. Two low resolution browse images, ET and LE, are also available for each MOD16A2 granule.

The pixel values for the two Evapotranspiration layers (ET and PET) are the sum of all eight days within the composite period and the pixel values for the two Latent Heat layers (LE and PLE) are the average of all eight days within the composite period. Note that the last acquisition period of each year is a 5 or 6-day composite period, depending on the year.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 net evapotranspiration 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, (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB), and (3) The product uses Climatology Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) as back up to the operational LAI/FPAR.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
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
2021-01-01 to Present
Temporal Resolution
8 Day
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
C2343113232-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
69784
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Evapotranspiration ,
Latent Heat Flux

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

Running, S., Mu, Q., & Zhao, M. (2021). MODIS/Terra Net Evapotranspiration 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD16A2.061 Date Accessed: 2026-05-12

File Naming Convention

MOD16A2.A2025201.h07v05.061.2025217003056.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD16A2) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025201), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h07v05), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025217003056), 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
Relationships between current climate and deforestation on citrus productivity in Northeastern Para (Eastern Amazon) Dias, Thaiane Soeiro da Silva, Souza, Everaldo Barreiros de Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Resilience of an Urban Coastal Ecosystem in the Caribbean: A Remote Sensing Approach in Western Puerto Rico Bonilla-Roman, Yadiel Noel, Acuna-Guzman, Salvador Francisco Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Tradeoffs Between Temporal and Spatial Pattern Calibration and Their Demirel, M. C., Koch, J., Rakovec, O., Kumar, R., Mai, J., Muller, S., Thober, S., Samaniego, L., Stisen, S. RADAR IMAGERY, Terrain Elevation, Topographical Relief Maps, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Trends in atmospheric water vapour over the Thar Desert during Indian Summer Monsoon period of 20032020 Patel, Vikas Kumar, Kuttippurath, Jayanarayanan Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Toward robust pattern similarity metric for distributed model evaluation Yorulmaz, Eymen Berkay, Kartal, Elif, Demirel, Mehmet Cuneyd Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Thermodynamic satellite monitoring of forest ecosystems health in the of Gulf of Finland catchment area (using the example of the Karelian Isthmus) Gornyy, V.I., Saint Petersburg Federal Research Center RAS, Kiselev, A.V., Bezruchenko, P.A., Manvelova, A.B., Tronin, A.A., Bril, A.A., Mazurov, A.A. Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Thermodynamic Satellite Monitoring of the Health of Forest Ecosystems in the Gulf of Finland Catchment Area (Using the Example of the Karelian Isthmus) Gornyy, V. I., Kiselev, A. V., Bezruchenko, P. A., Manvelova, A. B., Tronin, A. A., Bril, A. A., Mazurov, A. A. Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
The Divergent Changes in Surface Water Area after the South-to-North Guo, Tongze, Li, Runkui, Xiao, Zhen, Cai, Panli, Guo, Jingxian, Fu, Haiyu, Zhang, Xiaoping, Song, Xianfeng Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
The Planetary Child Health & Enterics Observatory (Plan-EO): A protocol Colston, Josh M., Fang, Bin, Houpt, Eric, Chernyavskiy, Pavel, Swarup, Samarth, Gardner, Lauren M., Nong, Malena K., Badr, Hamada S., Zaitchik, Benjamin F., Lakshmi, Venkataraman, Kosek, Margaret N. Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Study on mapping method of irrigated cultivated landtaking Nebraska as an example Zhu, Xiufang, Liu, Ying, Xu, Kun Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Streamflow modeling in the Colombian Andes: insights from watersheds with diverse physical properties and climate patterns Alvarez, Mariana, Barco, Janet Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
A dynamical downscaling method of groundwater storage changes using GRACE data Sun, Jianchong, Hu, Litang, Cao, Xiaoyuan, Liu, Dongxu, Liu, Xin, Sun, Kangning Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Surface Temperature, Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Surface Winds, Rain, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Latent Heat Flux
Agricultural drought characteristics in a typical plain region Zhang, Yuliang, Wu, Zhiyong, Singh, Vijay P., Lin, Qingxia, Ning, Shaowei, Zhou, Yuliang, Jin, Juliang, Zhou, Rongxing, Ma, Qiang Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Aerodynamic effects cause higher forest evapotranspiration and water Meili, Naika, Beringer, Jason, Zhao, Jiacheng, Fatichi, Simone Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Assessing the Recent Trends of Land Degradation and Desertification in Romania Using Remote Sensing Indicators Ontel, Irina, Cheval, Sorin, Irimescu, Anisoara, Boldeanu, George, Amihaesei, Vlad-Alexandru, Mihailescu, Denis, Nertan, Argentina, Angearu, Claudiu-Valeriu, Craciunescu, Vasile Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy
Assessing the sensitivity of modelled water partitioning to global Quichimbo, E. A., Singer, M. B., Michaelides, K., Rosolem, R., MacLeod, D. A., Asfaw, D.T., Cuthbert, M. O. Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Analytical framework based on thermodynamics to estimate spatially distributed surface energy fluxes from remotely sensed radiations Gupta, Mayank, Wild, Martin, Ghosh, Subimal Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Validation of crop evapotranspiration products based on eddy-covariance flux observations LIU, Meng, /, 100081 State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northen China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China, PENG, Zhong, HUANG, Lingxiao, LI, Zhaoliang, DUAN, Sibo, TANG, Ronglin Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Water Balance and the Moist Planetary Boundary Layer Driven by Land Use Ribeiro, Celso Bandeira de Melo, Mohanty, Binayak P., Rotunno Filho, Otto Correa, Filgueiras, Eduarda Trindade, Xavier, Luciano Nobrega Rodrigues, Araujo, Afonso Augusto Magalhaes de Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Identification of Drought Events in Major Basins of Africa from GRACE Elameen, Ayman M., Jin, Shuanggen, Olago, Daniel Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Institutions and Global Crop Yields Wuepper, David, Wang, Haoyu, Schlenker, Wolfram, Jain, Meha, Finger, Robert Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Reflectance, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Fine Resolution Mapping of Soil Organic Carbon in Croplands with Feature Zhang, Xianglin, Xue, Jie, Chen, Songchao, Wang, Nan, Xie, Tieli, Xiao, Yi, Chen, Xueyao, Shi, Zhou, Huang, Yuanfang, Zhuo, Zhiqing Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Flash drought evaluation using evaporative stress and evaporative demand Getahun, Yitea Seneshaw, Li, Ming-Hsu Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
How is the performance of satellite-based product suites in monitoring long-term dynamics of vegetation photosynthesis over global mountainous areas? Xie, Xinyao, Li, Ainong Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Solar Induced Fluorescence, Albedo, Anisotropy, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Indicator-to-impact links to help improve agricultural drought preparedness in Thailand Tanguy, Maliko, Eastman, Michael, Magee, Eugene, Barker, Lucy J., Chitson, Thomas, Ekkawatpanit, Chaiwat, Goodwin, Daniel, Hannaford, Jamie, Holman, Ian, Pardthaisong, Liwa, Parry, Simon, Rey Vicario, Dolores, Visessri, Supattra Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
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