MCD43D39: Daily Global BRDF/Albedo Quality Data for Climate Models

MCD43D39 Version 6 is a NASA MODIS data product providing daily Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Albedo quality information for MODIS band 7. The product is generated at a 30 arc second (1,000 meter) resolution, uses 16 days of Terra and Aqua satellite data weighted to the ninth day, and covers the entire globe as a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). This version was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users directed to the updated Version 6.1.

Use Cases

• Filtering high-quality albedo retrievals based on the band-specific quality flags described in the user guide.
• Assessing observation quality over 16-day periods for climate model input validation.
• Investigating known aerosol-related impacts on surface reflectance, particularly over arid bright surfaces.
• Supporting snow status analysis in climate models using the temporally weighted data.

Strengths

• Provides global coverage at a consistent 30 arc second (1,000 meter) spatial resolution.
• Data is produced daily using observations from two satellite platforms (Terra and Aqua MODIS).
• Includes specific information on known issues and corrections implemented in later versions.

Limitations

• This Version 6 product is officially decommissioned; the documentation strongly advises against substantive use in favor of Version 6.1.
• Known issues with aerosol representation in Collection 6 may impact data quality over certain surfaces.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

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; data temporally weighted to the ninth day of a 16-day period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:40:02.227273; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global