MODIS Aqua Near-Real-Time Snow Cover at 500m Resolution

MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m NRT provides snow cover and fractional snow cover data for cloud-free land and inland water pixels. The dataset is produced by the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and processed by the LANCEMODIS organization. Data are delivered in near-real-time.

Use Cases

• Classify land pixels as snow-covered or snow-free using the binary snow_cover field.
• Estimate percent snow coverage within a pixel using the fractional_snow_cover data field.
• Assess data reliability for specific pixels by referencing the Quality Assessment (QA) layer.
• Map snow extent at 500m resolution by combining snow cover data with provided latitude and longitude geolocation fields.

Strengths

• Provides data at a 500-meter spatial resolution for detailed analysis.
• Includes two distinct snow metrics: binary classification and fractional coverage.
• Data is available in a near-real-time (NRT) product for timely monitoring.

Limitations

• Geolocation fields (latitude/longitude) are at a coarser 5 km resolution than the 500m snow data.
• Snow cover classification is only provided for cloud-free pixels, limiting coverage in cloudy regions.

Provenance

Source

NASA MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite, processed by LANCEMODIS.

Collection Method

Remote sensing via a snow mapping algorithm employing the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and other criteria tests.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Near-real-time

Geography

Global