MCD43D61: Daily Global White-Sky Albedo at 1km Resolution

MCD43D61 Version 6.1 provides daily global white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) for the shortwave broadband. The dataset is produced by NASA using 16 days of combined Terra and Aqua MODIS satellite data, weighted to the ninth day, and is formatted on a 30 arc-second (approximately 1km) Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). Users are directed to consult the provided User Guide and the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website for application guidance and known issues.

Use Cases

• Parameterizing land surface albedo in climate simulation models based on the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Analyzing temporal trends in surface reflectance using the daily, temporally-weighted data product.
• Isolating high-quality albedo retrievals for specific science applications using the band-specific quality flags mentioned in the user guide.

Strengths

• Data is produced daily using 16 days of observations from two satellite platforms (Terra and Aqua MODIS), suggesting robust temporal compositing.
• Version 6.1 incorporates specific calibration improvements, including RVS, optical crosstalk, and polarization corrections as listed in the description.
• Provides global coverage at a consistent 30 arc-second (approximately 1,000 meter) spatial resolution.

Limitations

• Each product file contains just one data layer, which may complicate analysis requiring multiple spectral bands.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale statistical modeling.

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 window.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:38:43.729927; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage.