MCD43D60: Daily Global Near-Infrared White-Sky Albedo at 1km Resolution

MCD43D60 Version 6 is a daily, global dataset of Near-Infrared (NIR) white-sky albedo at 30 arc-second (approximately 1,000 meter) resolution, produced by NASA using 16 days of MODIS data from the Terra and Aqua satellites. The data are temporally weighted to the ninth day of the 16-day period and are formatted as a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) for use in climate simulations. This specific version was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users directed to the updated Version 6.1 product.

Use Cases

• Parameterizing land surface albedo in climate simulation models based on the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Analyzing temporal changes in surface reflectance using the daily, 16-day composite data production method.
• Studying Near-Infrared (NIR) broadband albedo for vegetation or land cover research as described in the product suite.
• Assessing data quality for scientific applications using the band-specific quality flags referenced in the user guide.

Strengths

• Provides daily, global coverage at a consistent 1,000-meter spatial resolution.
• Integrates observations from two satellite platforms (Terra and Aqua MODIS) over a 16-day period.
• Product improvements include better quality at high latitudes and use of snow status weighted to the ninth day.

Limitations

• This Version 6 product has known issues, particularly over arid bright surfaces, and was decommissioned; users are urged to use Version 6.1.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Each large file contains just one data layer, which may complicate analysis requiring multiple bands.

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:38:05.389964; freshness should be verified as the underlying data product is deprecated.

Geography

Global coverage.