Daily Global Snow Cover and Surface Properties from MODIS

Near real-time global daily data provides snow fraction, snow albedo, grain size, dust concentration, and radiative forcing at a 500m resolution. The dataset is derived from MODIS/Terra surface reflectance using the SPIReS spectral mixture analysis model, produced by NSIDC. Data are available from 01 October 2025 to the present.

Use Cases

• Model snowmelt runoff by analyzing daily snow_fraction and snow_cover_duration across watersheds.
• Estimate radiative forcing impacts on regional climate using the snow_radiative_forcing and snow_albedo parameters.
• Study snow aging and impurity effects by correlating snow_grain_size and dust_concentration over time.
• Assess data reliability for specific dates by checking the days_without_observation field.
• Map snow albedo on complex terrain using the separate snow_albedo_on_sloped_surface variable.

Strengths

• Spatially and temporally complete data after interpolation for all variables.
• Provides 500m resolution global daily observations from MODIS/Terra.
• Includes derived physical properties like snow_grain_size and dust_concentration solved simultaneously.

Limitations

• Initial geographic coverage is limited to MODIS tiles for the western United States.
• Data prior to 01 October 2025 requires a separate historical dataset.
• Specific row count, file size, and total column details are not provided.

Provenance

Source

NSIDC, derived from NASA MODIS/Terra MOD09GA v6.1 surface reflectance.

Collection Method

Generated using the Snow Property Inversion from Remote Sensing (SPIReS) spectral mixture analysis model.

Time Range

From 01 October 2025 to present.

Freshness

Near real-time, updated daily from 01 October 2025 to present.

Geography

Global, 500m Sinusoidal grid; initial availability for western U.S. MODIS tiles (h08v04, h08v05, h09v04, h09v05, h10v04).