MCD43D57: Daily Global White-Sky Albedo for MODIS Band 6 at 1km Resolution

Global daily white-sky albedo data for MODIS band 6, produced by NASA using Terra and Aqua satellite observations. The dataset is generated daily at a 30 arc-second (approximately 1,000-meter) resolution, with data temporally weighted to the ninth day of a 16-day composite period. It is part of the MCD43D BRDF/Albedo product suite designed for climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating climate models based on the white-sky albedo parameter.
• Analyzing land surface radiative properties and energy balance based on spectral albedo.
• Monitoring long-term changes in surface reflectance for climate studies using the daily temporal resolution.
• Assessing the quality of satellite-derived albedo products using the provided band-specific quality flags.

Strengths

• Daily temporal resolution using 16 days of MODIS data from both Terra and Aqua satellites.
• Global spatial coverage at a consistent 30 arc-second (1,000-meter) Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) resolution.
• Version 6.1 includes specific calibration improvements, including RVS, optical crosstalk, and polarization corrections.

Limitations

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

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 coverage; temporal weighting is applied to the ninth day of a 16-day composite.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:23:15.754664; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global