MCD43D49: MODIS Black-Sky Albedo for Visible Broadband, Daily Global 1km

MCD43D49 Version 6.1 provides daily black-sky albedo for the visible broadband, derived from 16 days of combined Terra and Aqua MODIS satellite observations. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration produces this Climate Modeling Grid product at a 30 arc-second (approximately 1,000-meter) resolution, covering the entire globe. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the 16-day observation period.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance in climate simulations based on the black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) parameter.
• Analyzing land surface changes over time based on daily, globally-complete 1km resolution data.
• Assessing the quality of albedo retrievals for scientific applications based on the band-specific quality flags mentioned in the user guide.
• Comparing black-sky and white-sky albedo scenarios for radiative transfer studies based on the product suite's definitions.

Strengths

• Data is produced daily using a 16-day observation window from two MODIS sensors (Terra and Aqua), likely improving temporal coverage.
• Version 6.1 incorporates specific calibration improvements, including RVS approach changes and polarization correction for reflective solar bands.
• Covers the entire globe at a consistent 30 arc-second Climate Modeling Grid resolution, suitable for global-scale models.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Each product file contains just one data layer, which may complicate analyses requiring multiple spectral bands.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific ML tasks.

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; temporal weighting to the ninth day of a 16-day period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:26:45.374758; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage.