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Description
The Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Vegetation Indices (MOD13Q1) Version 6.1 data are generated every 16 days at 250 meter (m) spatial resolution as a Level 3 product. The MOD13Q1 product provides two primary vegetation layers. The first is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which is referred to as the continuity index to the existing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA-AVHRR) derived NDVI. The second vegetation layer is the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), which has improved sensitivity over high biomass regions. The algorithm chooses the best available pixel value from all the acquisitions from the 16 day period. The criteria used is low clouds, low view angle, and the highest NDVI/EVI value.
Along with the vegetation layers and the two quality layers, the HDF file will have MODIS reflectance bands 1 (red), 2 (near-infrared), 3 (blue), and 7 (mid-infrared), as well as four observation layers.
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).
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
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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)
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.
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Didan, K. (2021). MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13Q1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-09-20
https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13Q1.061
Didan, K. (2021). MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13Q1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-09-20
Didan, Kamel. “MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061.” NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021, https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13Q1.061. Date Accessed: 2026-09-20
File Naming Convention
MOD13Q1.A2025193.h31v08.061.2025209132825.hdf
The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD13Q1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025193), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h31v08), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025209132825), and the Data Format (hdf).
The Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS) tool simplifies data access, extraction, transformation, and visualization for defined areas.
Learn how to interpret Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Vegetation Indices quality data by understanding layers, decoding bits, and using tools for quality assessment.
Tutorial
April 10, 2017
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Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
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.
