MODIS/Aqua Net Evapotranspiration Gap-Filled Yearly L4 Global 500m SIN Grid

A yearly composite dataset produced at the end of each calendar year. The MYD16A3GF Version 6 product provides gap-filled, global estimates of evapotranspiration and latent heat flux at 500-meter resolution, developed by NASA using MODIS remote sensing data and meteorological reanalysis. This version was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users encouraged to use the updated Version 6.1.

Use Cases

• Modeling global water cycle dynamics based on yearly evapotranspiration sums
• Analyzing vegetation impacts on land-atmosphere energy exchange based on latent heat flux averages
• Assessing land surface energy balance based on potential evapotranspiration and latent heat layers
• Monitoring long-term ecological and hydrological trends based on gap-filled, quality-controlled composites

Strengths

• Spatial resolution increased to nominal 500 meters from 1,000 meters in Version 5
• Algorithm incorporates daily meteorological reanalysis data alongside MODIS vegetation, albedo, and land cover products
• Provides layers for composited ET, LE, Potential ET (PET), Potential LE (PLE), and a quality control layer

Limitations

• Data is not available in near-real time; it is generated only at the end of a given year
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Produced using an improved algorithm based on the Penman-Monteith equation, incorporating MODIS remotely sensed data and daily meteorological reanalysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:20:42.768833; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global