MCD43D68: Daily Nadir-Adjusted Reflectance for MODIS Band 7 at 1km Global Scale

Daily global data produced using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS observations, temporally weighted to the ninth day. The MCD43D68 Version 6 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) dataset provides modeled reflectance for MODIS band 7 at 30 arc second (1,000 meter) resolution for use in climate simulation models. This product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, and users are encouraged to use the Version 6.1 data product.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface reflectance for climate simulations based on the daily, globally-covered Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) product.
• Analyzing land surface properties using nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) to remove view angle effects.
• Assessing data quality for scientific applications by utilizing the band-specific quality flags described in the user guide.

Strengths

• Provides daily global coverage at a consistent 30 arc second (1,000 meter) spatial resolution.
• Data is temporally weighted to the ninth day of a 16-day observation period to estimate the BRDF/Albedo.
• The algorithm uses a database of archetypal BRDF parameters to supplement data when observational quality is insufficient.

Limitations

• This specific Version 6 product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, due to known issues, including incorrect aerosol representation impacting downstream products.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Each product file contains just one data layer due to large file size, which may complicate multi-band analysis.

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, with data weighted to the ninth day of a 16-day period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:46:31.349701; freshness should be verified as the dataset is deprecated.

Geography

Global coverage.