MCD43D42: Daily Global Black-Sky Albedo for MODIS Band 1 at 1km Resolution

MCD43D42 Version 6.1 provides daily black-sky albedo data for MODIS spectral band 1 at a 30 arc second (approximately 1,000 meter) resolution. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) produces this global Climate Modeling Grid product using 16 days of combined Terra and Aqua MODIS observations, with data temporally weighted to the ninth day. It is one of 20 albedo layers in the MCD43D product suite, designed for use in climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance in climate simulations based on the black-sky albedo parameter.
• Analyzing temporal changes in land surface reflectance based on daily global coverage.
• Assessing the quality of satellite-derived albedo products based on the provided band-specific quality flags.
• Integrating surface radiative properties into Earth system models based on the Climate Modeling Grid format.

Strengths

• Daily global coverage at 1,000-meter spatial resolution.
• Version 6.1 incorporates specific calibration improvements, including RVS, optical crosstalk, and polarization corrections.
• Product is part of a suite providing 10 black-sky and 10 white-sky albedo layers for different spectral bands.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Each large file contains just one data layer, which may complicate multi-band analysis.
• Data may reflect temporal weighting and sensor-specific biases inherent to the MODIS platform.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data.

Time Range

Daily production; temporal weighting to the ninth day of a 16-day window.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:07:48.546344; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage.