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Full catalog/CLDPROP_D3_MODIS_Aqua
CLDPROP_D3_MODIS_Aqua·v1.1·dataset

Daily cloud properties worldwide (Aqua, 1 deg)

MODIS/Aqua Cloud Properties Level 3 daily, 1x1 degree grid
atmosphere NASA LAADS Level 3 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Daily worldwide summary statistics of cloud properties, such as averages and distributions describing the clouds the satellite saw each day.

How it's made. Computed from MODIS observations on NASA's Aqua satellite, aggregated onto a 1-degree global grid using the same recipes as the standard MODIS cloud statistics.

How & where you'd use it. Designed to give a consistent cloud record that lines up across MODIS and the newer VIIRS sensors, so researchers can study cloud patterns over time without sensor-to-sensor mismatches.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › CLOUDSATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIESATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FRACTIONATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FREQUENCYATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD HEIGHTATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP HEIGHTATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD RADIATIVE TRANSFER › CLOUD EMISSIVITYSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › INFRARED RADIANCESPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › REFLECTED INFRAREDSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS › VISIBLE RADIANCE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2002-07-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byAqua (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

The Cloud Properties Level-3 gridded product is designed to facilitate continuity in cloud property statistics between the MODIS on the Aqua and Terra platforms and the common continuity products generated for the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) and the MODIS Aqua instruments. CLDPROP Level-3 statistical routines include scalar and histograms (1-D and 2-D) that are calculated identically to statistical datasets in the MODIS standard Level-3 product (MOD08 and MYD08 for MODIS Terra and Aqua, respectively). In addition, the same dataset names are used for all common datasets provided in both the continuity and standard Level-3 files.

Get the data

cldprop_d3_modis_aqua_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CLDPROP_D3_MODIS_Aqua",
    version="1.1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LAADS
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.