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Description

The MOD16A2GF Version 6 data product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023. Users are encouraged to use the MOD16A2GF Version 6.1 data product.

The MOD16A2GF Version 6 Evapotranspiration/Latent Heat Flux (ET/LE) product is a year-end gap-filled 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.

The MOD16A2GF will be generated at the end of each year when the entire yearly 8-day MOD15A2H is available. Hence, the gap-filled MOD16A2GF is the improved MOD16, which has cleaned the poor-quality inputs from 8-day Leaf Area Index and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (LAI/FPAR) based on the Quality Control (QC) label for every pixel. If any LAI/FPAR pixel did not meet the quality screening criteria, its value is determined through linear interpolation. However, users cannot get MOD16A2GF in near-real time because it will be generated only at the end of a given year.

Provided in the MOD16A2GF product are layers for composited ET, 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 MOD16A2GF 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. The last acquisition period of each year is a 5- or 6-day composite period, depending on the year.

Known Issues

Version Description

Gap-filled MODIS GPP products were introduced in MODIS Version 6.

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
2000-01-01 to 2021-12-31
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
C2763298095-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Evapotranspiration ,
Photosynthesis ,
Primary Production ,
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., & Moreno, A. (2019). MOD16A2GF MODIS/Terra Net Evapotranspiration Gap-Filled 8-Day L4 Global 500 m SIN Grid V006 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD16A2GF.006 Date Accessed: 2026-04-29

File Naming Convention

MOD16A2GF.A2002273.h05v10.006.2019312205524.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD16A2GF) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2002273), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h05v10), the Version of the data collection (006), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2019312205524), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Comparison of multiple satellite-derived products for assessing Song, Jiaxin, Zhou, Decheng, Hao, Lu, Xiao, Jingfeng, Li, Xing, Zhang, Liangxia, Sun, Ge Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Surface Pressure, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Surface Temperature, Humidity, Surface Winds, Rain, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff
Assessing the Impacts of Long-Term Weather Variability and Urban Development on Crop Production to Analyze Food Security in Iran Garajeh, Mohammad Kazemi, Kamran, Khalil Valizadeh, Feizizadeh, Bakhtiar, Khorrami, Behnam Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Precipitation, Rain, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow
Assessing Flash Drought Development and Propagation Across the Contiguous United States Using Remote Sensing Zeraati, Masoud, Farahmand, Alireza, Seager, Richard, Fowler, Hayley J., Madani, Nima, Parazoo, Nicholas, Manning, Colin, White, Christopher J., Wen, Yixin, Mehran, Ali, AghaKouchak, Amir Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Carbon Monoxide, Geopotential Height, Tropopause, Methane, Atmospheric Ozone, Surface Pressure, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Air Temperature, Upper Air Temperature, Humidity, Total Precipitable Water, Water Vapor, Water Vapor Profiles, Cloud Liquid Water/Ice, Cloud Height, Cloud Top Pressure, Cloud Top Temperature, Cloud Vertical Distribution, Emissivity, Skin Temperature, Sea Surface Temperature, Heat Flux, Longwave Radiation, Shortwave Radiation, Surface Temperature, Surface Winds, Soil Moisture/Water Content, Soil Temperature, Land Surface Temperature, Snow Water Equivalent, Runoff
Commodity-driven deforestation doubles local warming from tropical forest loss Smith, Callum, Baker, Jessica C A, Doggart, Nike H, Argles, Arthur P K, Robertson, Eddy, Chadwick, Robin, Adami, Marcos, Coelho, Caio A S, Spracklen, Dominick V Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Albedo, Anisotropy, Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Identification of regional agricultural drought in the North China Plain and its attribution factors Huang, Shaofeng, Zhang, Qi, Dai, Siyuan Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Integrating physical drivers for wildfire hazard modelling in support of Corbea-Perez, Alejandro, Merino, Andres, Navarro, Andres, Garcia-Ortega, Eduardo Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Intercomparison of Earth Observation products for hyper-resolution Garcia-Garcia, Almudena, Stradiotti, Pietro, Di Paolo, Federico, Filippucci, Paolo, Fischer, Milan, Orsag, Matej, Brocca, Luca, Peng, Jian, Dorigo, Wouter, Gruber, Alexander, Droppers, Bram, Wanders, Niko, Haag, Arjen, Weerts, Albrecht, Modiri, Ehsan, Rakovec, Oldrich, Frances, Felix, DallAmico, Matteo, Anderson, Martha, Hain, Christopher, Samaniego, Luis Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Surface Soil Moisture
More frequent warm and dry spells along persistent cold and wet spells in the Baltics Kalvane, Gunta, Kalvans, Andis, Briede, Agrita Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Satellite-based detection of agricultural flash droughts and associated vegetation responses in southeastern South America Masaro, Lumila, Lovino, Miguel A, Pierrestegui, M Josefina, Muller, Gabriela V, Dorigo, Wouter Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, VEGETATION PRODUCTIVITY, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Reflectance, Root Zone Soil Moisture, Surface Soil Moisture
Monitoring changes in the landscape water balance: validation of satellite- and model-based evapotranspiration data in Lusatia, Germany Krocher, Jenny, Ghazaryan, Gohar, Spank, Uwe, Zimmermann, Beate, Beyrich, Frank, Dietrich, Ottfried, Markwitz, Christian, van Ramshorst, Justus, Callejas-Rodelas, Jose Angel, Lischeid, Gunnar Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
When Do Riverine Systems Feel the Burn? Simulating How Burn Extent and Severity Modulate Hydrologic Controls on Biogeochemical Export Wampler, K. A., MyersPigg, A. N., Kang, H., Regier, P., Scheibe, T. D., Bladon, K. D. Maximum/Minimum Temperature, 24 Hour Precipitation Amount, Snow Water Equivalent, Shortwave Radiation, Vapor Pressure, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Widespread biophysical cooling effects due to post-fire greening Xi, Huipeng, Wang, Qunming, Xiao, Yuelong, Guo, Ru, Tong, Xiaohua, Atkinson, Peter M. Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Albedo, Anisotropy, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Burned Area, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
A Comparative Analysis of Remotely Sensed and High-Fidelity ArcSWAT Evapotranspiration Estimates Across Various Timescales in the Upper Anthemountas Basin, Greece Sevastas, Stefanos, Siarkos, Ilias, Mallios, Zisis Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
A coupled machine-learning and sensitivity analysis framework to link Hosseinipoor, Mahdi, Danesh-Yazdi, Mohammad Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Aerosol Optical Depth/Thickness
Advancing Ensemble Streamflow Prediction Through Satellite-Based Peng, Kaidi, Wright, Daniel B., Derin, Yagmur, Alexander, G. Aaron, Pradhan, Ankita, Zoccatelli, Davide, Hartke, Samantha H., Li, Zhe, Tan, Jackson Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain
Advancing Evapotranspiration Modeling With Optimized Soil and Canopy Resistance Combinations Zhao, Jinfeng, Sun, Shikun, Yin, Yali, Tang, Yihe, Li, Chong, Liang, Yongshan, Wang, Yubao, Winkler, Alexander, Jiang, Shijie Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Accelerated disappearance of desert oases: The impact of climate warming Li, Dinghao, Wang, Zhi, Li, Hao, Liu, Yulong, Zhakypbek, Yryszhan, Tursbekov, Serik, Wan, Yanbo, Shi, Qingdong Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
A three-dimensional Budyko framework with terrestrial water storage He, Qing, Fok, Hok Sum, Zhou, Hao, Ferreira, Vagner, Sun, Yilin 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, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Contrasting biophysical impacts of vegetation growth and type transition greening on local temperature in southwestern China Dong, Na, Liu, Zhen, Xu, Ru, Huang, Hua-Bing Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
An Optimal Transport Framework for WaterEnergy Coupling in SoilVegetationAtmosphere Continuum Mishra, Debasish, Sehgal, Vinit, Mohanty, Binayak P. Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Assessing drought trends and vegetation health in arid regions using advanced remote sensing techniques: a case study in Saudi Arabia Alqadhi, Saeed, Mallick, Javed, Hang, Hoang Thi Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Reflectance
Climate change impacts on groundwater: a growing challenge for water resources sustainability in Brazil Hirata, Ricardo, Goodarzi, Leila, Rorig, Fernando Schuh, Alves, Lincoln Muniz, Bertolo, Reginaldo Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Terrain Elevation, RADAR IMAGERY, Topographical Relief Maps
Climate Change Is Altering Ecosystem Water Use Efficiency in Green, Tristan, Salvucci, Guido, Friedl, Mark A. Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Disentangling Effects of Vegetation Structure and Physiology on LandAtmosphere Coupling Li, Wantong, Migliavacca, Mirco, Miralles, Diego G., Reichstein, Markus, Anderegg, William R. L., Yang, Hui, Orth, Rene Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux
Elevation Correction of Forest Biogeophysical Cooling Effect in China Bai, Tingting, Song, Yongze, Li, Tong, Zheng, Jinxiu, Zhu, Kai Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Latent Heat Flux, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), 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
ET_500m Total Evapotranspiration kg/m²/8day int16 32761 -32767 to 32700 0.1 N/A
ET_QC_500m Evapotranspiration Quality Control flags Bit Field uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A N/A
LE_500m Average Latent Heat Flux J/m²/day int16 32761 -32767 to 32700 10000 N/A
PET_500m Total Potential Evapotranspiration kg/m²/8day int16 32761 -32767 to 32700 0.1 N/A
PLE_500m Average Potential Latent Heat Flux J/m²/day int16 32761 -32767 to 32700 10000 N/A
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