MODIS Terra LAI and FPAR 8-Day Global 500m Grid

NASA's MOD15A2H Version 6 dataset provides global 8-day composite measurements of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) at a 500-meter resolution from the Terra satellite's MODIS sensor. The Level 4 product includes primary science datasets for LAI and FPAR, along with quality layers and standard deviation fields. This version was decommissioned in July 2023, with users directed to the updated Version 6.1 product.

Use Cases

• Modeling global carbon and water cycles using the LAI and FPAR measurements.
• Monitoring vegetation health and phenology over time with the 8-day composite time series.
• Assessing canopy light absorption for agricultural yield prediction via the FPAR column.
• Validating land surface models using the provided standard deviation and quality assurance layers.
• Studying changes in land cover and biomass using the improved multi-year input product.

Strengths

• Provides a global spatial coverage at a native 500-meter resolution, an improvement from the previous 1000-meter version.
• Includes quality assurance layers and standard deviation estimates for the LAI and FPAR science datasets.
• Uses an improved multi-year land cover product and daily L2G-lite surface reflectance as input for algorithm stability.

Limitations

• The dataset is explicitly decommissioned (July 31, 2023), directing users to a newer version, which limits its use for current operational analysis.
• Key metadata such as row count, total size, and specific column names are not provided across any of the source platforms.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov but is 'None' on NASA Earthdata, creating a conflict.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Data is generated from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra satellite, using an algorithm that selects the best pixel from all acquisitions within an 8-day period.

Time Range

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Freshness

2026-03-13 00:14:38.654206

Geography

Global