Daily Global Black-Sky Albedo for MODIS Band 2

MODIS/Terra+Aqua satellites produce daily black-sky albedo maps for MODIS band 2 at 1-kilometer resolution. LPCLOUD generates this Climate Modeling Grid product by temporally weighting 16 days of sensor data to a central Julian date. The dataset covers the entire globe for use in climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Model surface energy balance by integrating black-sky albedo for MODIS band 2 into land surface models.
• Track seasonal vegetation changes by analyzing daily albedo variations in the near-infrared spectral band.
• Assess snow cover dynamics using the albedo response in band 2 across mountainous regions.
• Validate climate model outputs by comparing simulated albedo with this observed 30-arc-second grid data.

Strengths

• Provides daily global coverage at 30 arc-second (approximately 1 km) resolution.
• Derived from 16 days of combined Terra and Aqua MODIS data for robust temporal weighting.
• Includes 10 specific spectral bands in the product suite, with this file containing band 2 data.

Limitations

• Each product file contains only one data layer, requiring multiple files for multi-band analysis.
• Data quality depends on successful full inversions, requiring users to apply band-specific quality flags.
• Known issues exist, as documented on the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website, which may affect data reliability.

Provenance

Source

LPCLOUD, using data from NASA's Terra and Aqua MODIS instruments.

Collection Method

Produced daily by applying a BRDF model to 16 days of MODIS observations, temporally weighted to the ninth day.

Freshness

Daily

Geography

Global