MCD43D12: Daily Global BRDF Geometric Parameter for MODIS Band 4 at 1km Resolution

MCD43D12 Version 6.1 provides the geometric parameter for the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Albedo model for MODIS band 4. This NASA-produced dataset is generated daily at a 30 arc second (1,000 meter) resolution, covering the entire globe for use in climate simulation models. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of a 16-day observation window from the Terra and Aqua satellites.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface albedo for climate simulations based on the BRDF parameters.
• Analyzing daily changes in surface reflectance properties based on the 16-day rolling observation window.
• Isolating high-quality full inversion results for band 4 using the band-specific quality flags mentioned in the user guide.
• Deriving BRDF/Albedo values for MODIS band 4 using the geometric parameter in conjunction with the isotropic and volumetric parameters.

Strengths

• Produced daily using data from both Terra and Aqua MODIS instruments, suggesting frequent temporal coverage.
• Global coverage at a 1,000-meter resolution on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG).
• Version 6.1 incorporates calibration improvements including RVS, optical crosstalk, and polarization corrections.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Each product file contains just one data layer, which may complicate multi-band analysis.
• Row count and total file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

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 window.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:42:22.804945; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global