MODIS/Aqua Water Reservoir 8-Day L3 Global V061

164 man-made reservoirs and regulated natural lakes are monitored for surface area, elevation, and water storage in an 8-day time series. The Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) product combines near-infrared reflectance data with pre-established Area-Elevation curves. This Version 6.1 dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling water storage trends based on the 8-day time series of surface area and elevation.
• Analyzing reservoir surface area dynamics based on near-infrared reflectance classifications.
• Monitoring regional water availability based on data for 151 man-made reservoirs and 13 regulated natural lakes.
• Calibrating hydrological models based on the provided Area-Elevation (A-E) curves.

Strengths

• Provides data for a specific set of 164 water bodies, enabling focused analysis.
• Includes three key hydrological variables: surface area, elevation, and storage capacity.
• Offers an 8-day temporal resolution, allowing for tracking of short-term changes.

Limitations

• Known issues include overestimation of surface area due to lake ice coverage and uncertainties in high latitude regions.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from Aqua MODIS near-infrared reflectance data combined with pre-established Area-Elevation curves.

Time Range

8-day time series (specific start/end dates not provided).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:45:29.070932; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global