MCD43D47: Daily Global Black-Sky Albedo for MODIS Band 6 at 1km Resolution

Global daily black-sky albedo data for MODIS band 6, produced at 30 arc second (approximately 1,000 meter) resolution. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration generated this Climate Modeling Grid product using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS observations, temporally weighted to the ninth day. This version was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users encouraged to migrate to the Version 6.1 product.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface radiative properties for climate simulations based on the daily, global Climate Modeling Grid data.
• Analyzing directional hemispherical reflectance (black-sky albedo) as a function of solar zenith angle for MODIS band 6.
• Assessing surface albedo changes over time using the 16-day observation window weighted to a central date.
• Isolating high-quality albedo retrievals for scientific applications using the band-specific quality flags mentioned in the user guide.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage designed for use in climate simulation models.
• Daily temporal production using 16 days of combined Terra and Aqua MODIS data for stability.
• Data are provided at a consistent 30 arc second (approximately 1,000 meter) spatial resolution.

Limitations

• The product (Version 6) was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with known issues impacting data over arid bright surfaces.
• Column-level documentation and sample data are unavailable, requiring inspection after download.
• Each large file contains just one data layer, which may complicate multi-band analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Daily production; data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of a 16-day period.

Freshness

Last updated metadata indicates 2026-03 12, but the underlying Version 6 data product is archived and decommissioned.

Geography

Global