MODIS/Terra Net Evapotranspiration: Gap-Filled 8-Day Global 500m Data

Global satellite-derived estimates of evapotranspiration and latent heat flux at 500-meter resolution. The MOD16A2GF Version 6 product, produced by NASA, is an 8-day composite dataset generated annually using the Penman-Monteith equation with MODIS and meteorological inputs. This version was decommissioned on July 31, 2023, with users directed to the updated Version 6.1.

Use Cases

• Modeling regional water balance and drought conditions based on gap-filled evapotranspiration (ET) estimates.
• Analyzing land-atmosphere energy exchange using the average latent heat flux (LE) layer.
• Comparing actual and potential evapotranspiration (PET) to assess vegetation water stress.
• Studying long-term ecological dynamics using yearly composites of vegetation property inputs.

Strengths

• Spatial resolution increased to 500 meters from 1,000 meters in the previous version.
• Data is gap-filled using linear interpolation to clean poor-quality inputs from LAI/FPAR sources.
• Includes layers for ET, LE, PET, PLE, and a quality control layer for each 8-day composite.

Limitations

• Data is not available in near-real time; it is generated only at the end of each calendar year.
• The last acquisition period of each year is a 5- or 6-day composite, not a standard 8-day period.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Algorithm based on the Penman-Monteith equation using daily meteorological reanalysis data and MODIS remotely sensed products.

Time Range

Annual composites, with the final product available after each year ends.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:12:10.375111; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global