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Full catalog/MCD06COSP_D3_MODIS
MCD06COSP_D3_MODIS·v6.2·dataset

Daily cloud properties worldwide (Aqua and Terra, 1 degree)

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

What it measures. Daily worldwide summaries of cloud properties, packaged on a 1-by-1 degree grid with 23 different cloud measurements bundled together. It combines what two satellites saw into one daily picture.

How it's made. Made by aggregating cloud measurements from MODIS instruments on both NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites into a single daily gridded file.

How & where you'd use it. Designed especially to help climate scientists compare real-world cloud observations against climate model output.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESSATMOSPHERE › CLOUDSATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEIATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD DROPLET CONCENTRATION/SIZEATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD LIQUID WATER/ICEATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESSATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD MICROPHYSICS › CLOUD PRECIPITABLE WATERATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FREQUENCYATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD HEIGHTATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP PRESSUREATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2002-07-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (MODIS) · Aqua (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 combined MODIS (Aqua/Terra) Cloud Properties Level 3 daily, 1x1 degree grid product represents a new addition that is especially geared to facilitate climate scientists who deal with both models and observations. MCD06COSP_D3_MODIS represents the daily product’s short-name. The “COSP” acronym in its short-name stands for Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package. This product is an aggregation of combined MODIS Level-2 inputs from both the Terra and Aqua incarnations (MOD35/MOD06 and MYD35/MYD06, respectively), and employs an aggregation methodology consistent with the MOD08 and MYD08 products. Provided in netCDF4 format, it contains 23 aggregated science data sets (SDS/parameters). The Collection 6.2 (C6.2) is an improved version from the previous version (C6.1) because a number of bugs detected in Collection 6.1 are fixed.

Get the data

mcd06cosp_d3_modis_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MCD06COSP_D3_MODIS",
    version="6.2",
    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.