MODIS Aqua Monthly Vegetation Indices At 1km Resolution

MYD13A3 V6.1 provides monthly global vegetation indices from NASA's Aqua satellite at a 1-kilometer spatial resolution. The dataset includes the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), derived from atmospherically corrected surface reflectances in red, near-infrared, blue, and mid-infrared bands. It is produced by the LPCLOUD organization and serves as a continuation of historical NDVI time series.

Use Cases

• Modeling global hydrologic processes using monthly NDVI and EVI layers.
• Characterizing land surface biophysical properties with reflectance bands 1 (red), 2 (NIR), 3 (blue), and 7 (mid-infrared).
• Monitoring vegetation conditions and land cover conversion globally via quality-assured temporal composites.
• Providing continuity for historical time series analysis by complementing older AVHRR NDVI products.
• Assessing canopy density and minimizing atmospheric contamination in dense vegetation using the EVI algorithm.

Strengths

• Includes two primary vegetation indices (NDVI and EVI) with different sensitivities for canopy analysis.
• Provides monthly composites at a consistent 1km global resolution in a sinusoidal projection.
• Data is corrected for molecular scattering, ozone absorption, and aerosols to improve accuracy.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals its importance and reliability.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, total size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms.
• Known issues require external consultation of the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.

Provenance

Source

NASA Aqua satellite's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor.

Collection Method

Gridded Level 3 product generated by ingesting and applying a weighted temporal average to all overlapping MYD13A2 products for the month.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-13 00:18:54.266663

Geography

Global coverage.