MODIS Terra Global Vegetation Phenology at 1km Resolution

Global annual vegetation phenology data derived from MODIS/Terra satellite observations. The dataset provides 27 science data sets (SDS) quantifying plant growth cycles, with a spatial resolution of 1 kilometer in a sinusoidal projection. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is available in Hierarchical Data Format (HDF).

Use Cases

• Modeling seasonal carbon uptake by analyzing Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) parameters.
• Tracking global vegetation growth stages and phenological events using the 11 stored phenology parameters for up to two seasonal cycles (s1, s2).
• Assessing interannual variability in plant productivity by comparing annual L4 composite data derived from 8-day MCD15A2 products.
• Studying biome-specific responses to climate change through spatially explicit, 1km resolution global grids of phenological metrics.

Strengths

• Provides 27 distinct science data sets (SDS) for detailed phenological analysis.
• Offers global coverage at a consistent 1-kilometer spatial resolution.
• Derived from the established MODIS/Terra sensor, ensuring a standardized data collection methodology.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, dataset size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Sources conflict on license information, with some specifying 'other-license-specified' and others listing none.
• Phenology parameters are limited to the first two valid seasonal cycles detected per year.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Estimated from MCD15A2 8-day MODIS products.

Time Range

Annual composites, with valid seasonal cycles beginning within the year of interest and ending before the end of the second year.

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:17:13.809886

Geography

Global