MCD19A2CMG: Daily Global Aerosol and Water Vapor Data at 0.05 Degree Resolution

MCD19A2CMG Version 6.1 is a daily, global Level 3 data product from the combined MODIS Terra and Aqua satellites. It provides atmospheric properties, including Aerosol Optical Depth at 0.47 µm and 0.55 µm, column water vapor, and cloud fraction, on a 0.05 degree Climate Modeling Grid. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling atmospheric aerosol transport and climate forcing based on daily Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) layers.
• Analyzing global column water vapor distribution for climate studies based on Terra and Aqua satellite measurements.
• Assessing cloud cover and its impact on surface reflectance calculations based on the average cloud fraction data.
• Calibrating and validating land surface reflectance products using the provided atmospheric correction parameters.

Strengths

• Data is produced daily, offering high temporal resolution for time-series analysis.
• Provides a global spatial coverage on a consistent 0.05 degree (approx. 5.6 km) grid.
• Combines observations from two MODIS instruments (Terra and Aqua) for improved coverage.
• Includes specific Science Dataset layers like AOD at 0.47 µm and 0.55 µm, and column water vapor.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML projects.
• Known data issues are referenced but require consulting external user guides and websites for details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from MODIS Terra and Aqua sensors, processed with the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm.

Time Range

Daily production.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:35:45.576355; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global.