MISR Level 3: Global Radiance and Albedo Summary for a Year

MIL3YRD_005 is a Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 3 data product from NASA. It provides a statistical summary of spectral top-of-atmosphere Bidirectional Reflectance Factor and expansive albedos averaged over a year, reported on a 0.5-degree geographic grid. The data collection is ongoing, with global coverage achieved in nine days using nine cameras viewing Earth at nine different angles in four spectral bands.

Use Cases

• Analyze atmospheric particle (aerosol) types and amounts based on spectral top-of-atmosphere Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BDRF) summaries.
• Monitor cloud amounts, types, and heights based on spectral radiance parameters from multiple viewing angles.
• Study vegetation canopy structure and land surface cover distribution based on multi-angle, multi-spectral radiance data.
• Calculate spectral expansive albedos for different sky classifications to understand Earth's radiative properties.

Strengths

• Data is collected from nine cameras at nine different view angles (0, 26.1, 45.6, 60.0, and 70.5 degrees) and four spectral bands (443, 555, 670, and 865 nm).
• Provides global coverage on a geographic grid with a resolution of 0.5 degrees by 0.5 degrees.
• Data collection is ongoing, providing continuous temporal coverage.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• File formats are BIN and ISO, which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing from the MISR instrument, consisting of nine push-broom cameras.

Time Range

Annual averages covering from December of the previous through November of the current year.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:37:46.033662; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global