MCD43GF: Daily Global Gap-Filled Snow-Free Land Surface Albedo at 30 Arc-Second Resolution

67 data layers provide daily, global, snow-free estimates of land surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and albedo at a 30 arc-second resolution. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) produces this dataset by processing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from the Terra and Aqua satellites, using a 16-day moving window for model fitting. The product is gap-filled and includes quality assessment layers for ten spectral and broad bands.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance based on black-sky and white-sky albedo layers.
• Analyzing seasonal land surface changes using Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) data.
• Assessing data quality for specific regions or time periods using the provided quality (QA) layers.
• Studying surface radiative properties across MODIS spectral bands 1-7 and broad bands.

Strengths

• Provides 67 distinct data layers, including albedo, reflectance, model parameters, and quality flags.
• Process includes gap-filling and snow removal to create a continuous, snow-free daily product.
• Derived from the MODIS MCD43D product suite using a 16-day moving window to emphasize the daily day of interest.

Limitations

• Known metadata errors affect bands 2-7 for the years 2000-2004 and 2013.
• The description advises against substantive use of this Version 6 (C6) product due to upstream issues, recommending users wait for the C6.1 version.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS Terra and Aqua satellite reflectance data, processed through BRDF modeling and temporal/spatial fitting.

Time Range

Temporal coverage is not explicitly stated but likely corresponds to the MODIS mission lifetime.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:46:02.997274; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage at a 30 arc-second Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) resolution.