MCD43D15: Daily Global BRDF Geometric Parameter for MODIS Band 5 at 1km Resolution

MCD43D15 Version 6 was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users directed to the updated Version 6.1. This NASA product provides the daily Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) geometric parameter for MODIS band 5, derived from 16 days of Terra and Aqua satellite observations at a 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) resolution. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the 16-day period and are formatted as a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) covering the entire globe.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface reflectance for climate simulations based on the global Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Deriving albedo values for MODIS band 5 based on the provided geometric parameter used in conjunction with isotropic and volumetric parameters.
• Assessing surface radiative properties over bright, arid regions, with consideration for known aerosol representation issues in the input data.
• Isolating high-quality data for scientific applications based on the band-specific quality flags described in the user guide.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage designed for use in climate simulation models.
• Daily temporal production using a 16-day observation window, with data weighted to the ninth day.
• Corrections for known issues, such as aerosol representation, were implemented in the subsequent Collection 6.1 reprocessing.

Limitations

• This specific version (C6) was decommissioned due to known issues; the description urges users to avoid substantive use and wait for C6.1 products.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description notes potential impacts on downstream products, particularly over arid bright surfaces, from incorrect aerosol representation in the input surface reflectance data.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS data.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:24:40.947112; freshness should be verified as the dataset version is decommissioned.

Geography

Global