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Description

The MCD19A3 Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MCD19A3 Version 6.1 data product.

The MCD19A3 Version 6 data product is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Multi-angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Model Parameters gridded Level 3 product which is output every 8 days at 1 kilometer resolution. The MCD19A3 product provides three coefficients (weights) of the RossThick/Li-Sparse (RTLS) BRDF model that can be used to describe the anisotropy of each pixel. The retrievals represent cloud-free and low aerosol conditions.

The MCD19A3 BRDF Model Parameters product contains the following Science Dataset (SDS) layers: RTLS isotropic kernel parameter (Kiso) for bands 1-8, the RTLS volumetric kernel parameter (Kvol) for bands 1-8, RTLS geometric kernel parameter (Kgeo) for bands 1-8, surface albedo for bands 1-8, and the number of days since last update to current day. Three low-resolution browse images are also included showing the BRDF coefficients for the red band: (1) Kiso, (2) Kvol, and (3) Kgeo.

Known Issues

  • Due to Terra MODIS calibration degradation, BRDF in MODIS Band 8 may contain artifacts (e.g., 10 km striping), particularly after 2015.
  • Known issues are described on page 14 of the User Guide.
  • For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.

Version Description

Terra and Aqua combined MAIAC data products were introduced in MODIS Version 6.

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra ,
Aqua
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
2000-02-26 to 2023-02-17
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
C2763289463-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance

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

Lyapustin, A., & Wang, Y. (2018). MCD19A3 MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF Model Parameters 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD19A3.006 Date Accessed: 2026-05-13

File Naming Convention

MCD19A3.A2002273.h01v11.006.2018017060405.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD19A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002273), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h01v11), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2018017060405), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Satellite Multi-Angle Observations of Wildfire Smoke Plumes During the Noyes, K. T. Junghenn, Kahn, R. A. Fire Occurrence, Surface Thermal Properties, Land Surface Temperature, THERMAL ANOMALIES, Reflectance
MAGARA: A Multi-Angle Geostationary Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm Limbacher, James A., Kahn, Ralph A., Friberg, Mariel D., Lee, Jaehwa, Summers, Tyler, Zhang, Hai Reflectance
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
The new MISR research aerosol retrieval algorithm: a multi-angle, multi-spectral, bounded-variable least squares retrieval of aerosol particle properties over ... Limbacher, James A., Kahn, Ralph A., Lee, Jaehwa Reflectance
Comparison of different methods of determining land surface reflectance for AOD retrieval Wang, Qingxin, Du, Dongsheng, Li, Siwei, Yang, Jie, Lin, Hao, Du, Juan Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Reflectance
Assessment of the vertical distribution of speciated aerosol absorption over South Asia using spaceborne LIDAR and ground-based observations Lakshmi, N.B., Nair, Vijayakumar S., Babu, S. Suresh Reflectance, Atmospheric Ozone
Nighttime smoke aerosol optical depth over U.S. rural areasFirst retrieval from VIIRS moonlight observations Zhou, Meng, Wang, Jun, Chen, Xi, Xu, Xiaoguang, Colarco, Peter R., Miller, Steven D., Reid, Jeffrey S., Kondragunta, Shobha, Giles, David Matthew, Holben, Brent Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Reflectance, Geopotential Height, Atmospheric Ozone, Pressure Thickness, Sea Level Pressure, Surface Pressure, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Atmospheric Water Vapor, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Fraction, U/V Wind Components, U/V Wind Components, Ozone Profiles
Prospects for Long-Term Agriculture in Southern Africa: Emergent Wei, Tiffany M., Barros, Ana P. Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Specific Humidity, Evapotranspiration, Wind Speed, Rain, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Cover, Snow Depth, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Albedo, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Emissivity
Retrieval and validation of AOD from himawari-8 data over Bohai Rim region, China Wang, Qingxin, Li, Siwei, Zeng, Qiaolin, Sun, Lin, Yang, Jie, Lin, Hao Reflectance
First Provisional Land Surface Reflectance Product from Geostationary Li, Shuang, Wang, Weile, Hashimoto, Hirofumi, Xiong, Jun, Vandal, Thomas, Yao, Jing, Qian, Lexiang, Ichii, Kazuhito, Lyapustin, Alexei, Wang, Yujie, Nemani, Ramakrishna Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Reflectance, Snow Grain Size, Snow Cover
Effects of light component and water stress on photosynthesis of Amazon rainforests during the 2015/2016 El Nino drought Yan, Hao, Wang, Shaoqiang, Huete, Alfredo, Shugart, Herman H. Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance, Total Surface Precipitation Rate
MODIS collection 6 MAIAC algorithm Lyapustin, Alexei, Wang, Yujie, Korkin, Sergey, Huang, Dong Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Reflectance, Snow Grain Size, Snow Cover
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Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
Kgeo RTLS geometric kernel parameter for bands 1-8 N/A int16 -32767 -32766 to 32767 0.0001 N/A
Kiso RTLS isotropic kernel parameter for bands 1-8 N/A int16 -32767 -32766 to 32767 0.0001 N/A
Kvol RTLS volumetric kernel parameter for bands 1-8 N/A int16 -32767 -32766 to 32767 0.0001 N/A
Sur_albedo Surface albedo for bands 1-8 N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
UpdateDay Number of days since last update to the current day N/A uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
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