MCD43D55: Daily Global White-Sky Albedo for MODIS Band 4 at 1km Resolution

MCD43D55 Version 6 is a daily, global white-sky albedo dataset for MODIS band 4, produced by NASA using 16 days of Terra and Aqua satellite observations. Data are provided at a 30 arc second (approximately 1,000 meter) resolution on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). This specific version was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users directed to the updated Version 6.1 product.

Use Cases

• Parameterizing climate simulation models based on the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) product structure.
• Analyzing land surface radiative properties using the white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) metric.
• Assessing surface changes over time using the daily, temporally-weighted data production method.
• Isolating high-quality data for specific science applications using the band-specific quality flags mentioned in the user guide.

Strengths

• Global spatial coverage designed for climate simulation models.
• Daily production using a 16-day observation window, temporally weighted to the ninth day.
• Part of a suite of 20 albedo products (10 black-sky and 10 white-sky) covering multiple spectral bands.

Limitations

• The dataset (Version 6) is decommissioned; the description strongly advises against substantive use due to known issues in Collection 6.
• 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.

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:38:47.989308; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global