MCD43D34: Daily Global BRDF/Albedo Quality Data for Climate Models

Global daily data at 30 arc second (approximately 1,000 meter) resolution, produced by NASA using 16 days of Terra and Aqua MODIS observations. The MCD43D34 Version 6.1 product provides quality information for band 2 valid observations, temporally weighted to the ninth day of the retrieval period. It is designed for use in climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Filtering high-quality full inversion results for albedo studies based on the band-specific quality flags described in the user guide.
• Assessing data reliability for climate model inputs based on the valid observation quality layer for MODIS band 2.
• Tracking changes in surface reflectance data quality over time based on the 16-day retrieval period structure.

Strengths

• Data is produced daily using observations from two satellite platforms (Terra and Aqua MODIS).
• Version 6.1 incorporates specific calibration improvements, including RVS, optical crosstalk, and polarization corrections.
• Provides a dedicated quality layer for isolating high-quality results as urged in the user guide.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Each product file contains just one data layer, which may require combining multiple files for a complete analysis.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:41:09.732712; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG).