MCD19A1: Daily Land Surface Reflectance from MODIS Satellites at 500m and 1km

Daily global land surface reflectance data produced by NASA's MODIS Terra and Aqua satellites. The dataset is processed using the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm to correct for atmospheric gases and aerosols, providing an estimate of ground-level spectral reflectance. It includes 34 Science Dataset layers such as surface reflectance for 12 spectral bands, quality assessment bits, and geometric angles.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface albedo and energy balance based on bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) data.
• Monitoring snow cover dynamics based on the included snow fraction and snow grain size layers.
• Analyzing atmospheric aerosol effects on surface observations using the MAIAC-corrected reflectance.
• Studying seasonal vegetation changes using surface reflectance across multiple spectral bands.

Strengths

• Data is corrected for atmospheric interference using the advanced MAIAC algorithm, which combines time-series and pixel-image processing.
• Includes 34 distinct Science Dataset layers, providing surface reflectance, uncertainty metrics, snow parameters, and geometric angles.
• Provides data at multiple spatial resolutions: 500 meters, 1 kilometer, and includes kernel data at 5 kilometers.

Limitations

• The MCD19A1 Version 6 product was decommissioned on July 31, 2023; users are directed to use Version 6.1.
• Known metadata issues exist, such as an incorrect longname in the internal metadata, requiring reference to the user guide.
• Column-level documentation and sample data are unavailable, making field semantics and structure uncertain before download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Satellite data from MODIS instruments on Terra and Aqua platforms, processed with the MAIAC algorithm.

Time Range

Daily

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:21:47.819146; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global