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Description

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A2 Version 6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Quality dataset is produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS data at 500 meter (m) resolution. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the 16-day retrieval period which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name. MCD43A2 contains the quality information for the corresponding MCD43A3 Albedo and MCD43A4 Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) products.

Users are urged to use the band specific quality flags to isolate the highest quality full inversion results for their own science applications as described in the User Guide.

The MCD43A2 contains BRDF/Albedo band quality (inversion information) and days of valid observation within the 16-day period for MODIS bands 1 through 7 along with land water type, snow BRDF albedo, local solar noon, platform, and BRDF/Albedo uncertainty.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 BRDF/Albedo Model Parameters 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
2000-02-16 to Present
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMASS-B/SFE) ,
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
C2343116525-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
2939040
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
Albedo ,
Anisotropy

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

Schaaf, C., & Wang, Z. (2021). MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo Quality Daily L3 Global - 500m V061 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A2.061 Date Accessed: 2026-04-29

File Naming Convention

MCD43A2.A2025212.h11v12.061.2025221032740.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MCD43A2) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025212), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h11v12), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025221032740), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT VALIDATION

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Constraining a data-driven CO2 flux model by ecosystem and Upton, Samuel, Reichstein, Markus, Peters, Wouter, Botia, Santiago, Nelson, Jacob A., Walther, Sophia, Jung, Martin, Gans, Fabian, Haszpra, Laszlo, Bastos, Ana Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Fire Occurrence, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Compounded effects on wetland greenhouse gas fluxes from climate change and water management along a saline to freshwater gradient Doughty, Cheryl L., Ying, Qing, Ward, Eric, Delaria, Erin, Wolfe, Glenn M., Malone, Sparkle L., Reed, David E., Troxler, Tiffany, Kominoski, John S., Castaneda-Moya, Edward, Shoemaker, W. Barclay, Yannick, David, Starr, Gregory, Oberbauer, Steven F., Barenblitt, Abigail, Campbell, Anthony, Charles, Sean, Fatoyinbo, Lola, Gewirtzman, Jonathan, Hanisco, Thomas, Hannun, Reem, Kawa, Stephan, Lagomasino, David, Lait, Leslie, Lindquist, Ayia, Newman, Paul, Raymond, Peter, Rosentreter, Judith, Thornhill, Kenneth, Vaughn, Derrick, Poulter, Benjamin Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Wetlands, Wetlands, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Total Surface Water
Comparison of Broadband Surface Albedo from MODIS and Ground-Based Tosco, Monica, Cali Quaglia, Filippo, Ciardini, Virginia, Di Iorio, Tatiana, Iaccarino, Antonio, Meloni, Daniela, Muscari, Giovanni, Pace, Giandomenico, Scarchilli, Claudio, di Sarra, Alcide Giorgio Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Estimating GPP in China using different site-level datasets, vegetation classification and vegetation indices Xu, Jiahui, Chen, Tiexi, Chen, Xin, Zhou, Shengjie, Gu, Zhe, Li, Wenhui, Cui, Yingying, Wang, Shengzhen, Liu, Shuci Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Leaf Characteristics, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
On the added value of sequential deep learning for the upscaling of evapotranspiration Kraft, Basil, Nelson, Jacob A., Walther, Sophia, Gans, Fabian, Weber, Ulrich, Duveiller, Gregory, Reichstein, Markus, Zhang, Weijie, Ruwurm, Marc, Tuia, Devis, Korner, Marco, Hamdi, Zayd, Jung, Martin Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Albedo
Evaluating hydrological responses of satellite precipitation products Kalura, Praveen, Pandey, Ashish, Chowdary, V. M., Dayal, Deen Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Per-Pixel Forest Attribute Mapping and Error Estimation: The Google Earth Engine and R dataDriven Tool Francini, Saverio, Marcelli, Agnese, Chirici, Gherardo, Di Biase, Rosa Maria, Fattorini, Lorenzo, Corona, Piermaria Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
The Angular Correction Algorithm for the Intercalibration of Satellite Instruments using CLARREO Pathfinder as a Reference Wu, Wan, Liu, Xu, Yang, Qiguang, Currey, Jon Chris, Bartle, Aron D., Thurston, Adam, Smith, Natividad M., Shea, Yolanda L., Bhatt, Rajendra Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness, Angstrom Exponent
X-BASE: the first terrestrial carbon and water flux products from an Nelson, Jacob A., Walther, Sophia, Gans, Fabian, Kraft, Basil, Weber, Ulrich, Novick, Kimberly, Buchmann, Nina, Migliavacca, Mirco, Wohlfahrt, Georg, Sigut, Ladislav, Ibrom, Andreas, Papale, Dario, Gockede, Mathias, Duveiller, Gregory, Knohl, Alexander, Hortnagl, Lukas, Scott, Russell L., Dusek, Jiri, Zhang, Weijie, Hamdi, Zayd Mahmoud, Reichstein, Markus, Aranda-Barranco, Sergio, Ardo, Jonas, Op de Beeck, Maarten, Billesbach, Dave, Bowling, David, Bracho, Rosvel, Brummer, Christian, Camps-Valls, Gustau, Chen, Shiping, Cleverly, Jamie Rose, Desai, Ankur, Dong, Gang, El-Madany, Tarek S., Euskirchen, Eugenie Susanne, Feigenwinter, Iris, Galvagno, Marta, Gerosa, Giacomo A., Gielen, Bert, Goded, Ignacio, Goslee, Sarah, Gough, Christopher Michael, Heinesch, Bernard, Ichii, Kazuhito, Jackowicz-Korczynski, Marcin Antoni, Klosterhalfen, Anne, Knox, Sara, Kobayashi, Hideki, Kohonen, Kukka-Maaria, Korkiakoski, Mika, Mammarella, Ivan, Gharun, Mana, Marzuoli, Riccardo, Matamala, Roser, Metzger, Stefan, Montagnani, Leonardo, Nicolini, Giacomo, O'Halloran, Thomas, Ourcival, Jean-Marc, Peichl, Matthias, Pendall, Elise, Ruiz Reverter, Borja, Roland, Marilyn, Sabbatini, Simone, Sachs, Torsten, Schmidt, Marius, Schwalm, Christopher R., Shekhar, Ankit, Silberstein, Richard, Silveira, Maria Lucia, Spano, Donatella, Tagesson, Torbern, Tramontana, Gianluca, Trotta, Carlo, Turco, Fabio, Vesala, Timo, Vincke, Caroline, Vitale, Domenico, Vivoni, Enrique R., Wang, Yi, Woodgate, William, Yepez, Enrico A., Zhang, Junhui, Zona, Donatella, Jung, Martin Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Fire Occurrence, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo, Land Use/Land Cover Classification
A sensor-agnostic albedo retrieval method for realistic sea ice surfaces: model and validation Zhou, Yingzhen, Li, Wei, Chen, Nan, Fan, Yongzhen, Stamnes, Knut Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
A view from space on global flux towers by MODIS and Landsat: the FluxnetEO data set Walther, Sophia, Besnard, Simon, Nelson, Jacob Allen, El-Madany, Tarek Sebastian, Migliavacca, Mirco, Weber, Ulrich, Carvalhais, Nuno, Ermida, Sofia Lorena, Brummer, Christian, Schrader, Frederik, Prokushkin, Anatoly Stanislavovich, Panov, Alexey Vasilevich, Jung, Martin Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Albedo-Induced Global Warming Impact at Multiple Temporal Scales within an Upper Midwest USA Watershed Sciusco, Pietro, Chen, Jiquan, Giannico, Vincenzo, Abraha, Michael, Lei, Cheyenne, Shirkey, Gabriela, Yuan, Jing, Robertson, G. Philip Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Effect of the Partitioning of Diffuse and Direct APAR on GPP Estimation Chen, Siyuan, Sui, Lichun, Liu, Liangyun, Liu, Xinjie Albedo, Anisotropy, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Reflectance
Global Daily Actual and SnowFree BlueSky Land Surface Albedo Climatology From 20Year MODIS Products Jia, Aolin, Wang, Dongdong, Liang, Shunlin, Peng, Jingjing, Yu, Yunyue Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Reflectance
Mapping South Americas drylands through remote sensingA review of the methodological trends and current challenges Ganem, Khalil Ali, Xue, Yongkang, Rodrigues, Ariane de Almeida, Franca-Rocha, Washington, Oliveira, Marceli Terra de, Carvalho, Nathalia Silva de, Cayo, Efrain Yury Turpo, Rosa, Marcos Reis, Dutra, Andeise Cerqueira, Shimabukuro, Yosio Edemir Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Total Surface Water
Irrigation and warming drive the decreases in surface albedo over High Mountain Asia Maina, Fadji Z., Kumar, Sujay V., Gangodagamage, Chandana Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Integrating multi-source remote sensing to assess forest aboveground biomass in the Khingan Mountains of north-eastern China using machine-learning algorithms Wang, Xiaoyi, Liu, Caixia, Lv, Guanting, Xu, Jinfeng, Cui, Guishan Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
Satellite observed vegetation dynamics and drivers in the Namib sand sea over the recent 20 years Qiao, Na, Wang, Lixin Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Spatial difference between temperature and snowfall driven spring phenology of alpine grassland land surface based on process-based modeling on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau An, Shuai, Zhang, Xiaoyang, Ren, Shilong Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Using a vegetation index-based mixture model to estimate fractional vegetation cover products by jointly using multiple satellite dataMethod and feasibility analysis Song, Wanjuan, Zhao, Tian, Mu, Xihan, Zhong, Bo, Zhao, Jing, Yan, Guangjian, Wang, Li, Niu, Zheng Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
TROPOMI SIF reveals large uncertainty in estimating the end of plant growing season from vegetation indices data in the Tibetan Plateau Yang, Jilin, Xiao, Xiangming, Doughty, Russell, Zhao, Miaomiao, Zhang, Yao, Kohler, Philipp, Wu, Xiaocui, Frankenberg, Christian, Dong, Jinwei Reflectance, Anisotropy, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo
A unified vegetation index for quantifying the terrestrial biosphere Camps-Valls, Gustau, Campos-Taberner, Manuel, Moreno-Martinez, Alvaro, Walther, Sophia, Duveiller, Gregory, Cescatti, Alessandro, Mahecha, Miguel D., Munoz-Mari, Jordi, Garcia-Haro, Francisco Javier, Guanter, Luis, Jung, Martin, Gamon, John A., Reichstein, Markus, Running, Steven W. Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Consequences of the 2019 greenland ice sheet melt episode on albedo Elmes, Arthur, Levy, Charlotte, Erb, Angela, Hall, Dorothy K., Scambos, Ted A., DiGirolamo, Nicolo, Schaaf, Crystal Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
An Algorithm for the Retrieval of High Temporal-Spatial Resolution Yang, Gang, Wang, Jiyan, Xiong, Junnan, Yong, Zhiwei, Ye, Chongchong, Sun, Huaizhang, Liu, Jun, Duan, Yu, He, Yufeng, He, Wen Reflectance, Anisotropy, Albedo
Changes in clearsky shortwave aerosol direct radiative effects since 2002 Loeb, Norman G., Su, Wenying, Bellouin, Nicolas, Ming, Yi Reflectance, Albedo, Anisotropy
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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
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band1 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 1 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band2 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 2 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band3 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 3 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band4 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 4 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band5 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 5 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band6 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 6 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band7 BRDF Inversion Information for Band 7 Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_LandWaterType Land Water Type Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_LocalSolarNoon Solar Zenith Angle of Local Solar Noon Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Platform BRDF Albedo Platform information Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Uncertainty BRDF Albedo Uncertainty N/A uint16 32767 0 to 32766 0.001 N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band1 Valid Observation for Band 1 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band2 Valid Observation for Band 2 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band3 Valid Observation for Band 3 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band4 Valid Observation for Band 4 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band5 Valid Observation for Band 5 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band6 Valid Observation for Band 6 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band7 Valid Observation for Band 7 N/A uint16 0 1 to 65535 N/A N/A
Snow_BRDF_Albedo Snow-free BRDF/Albedo retrieved Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
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