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Full catalog/MCD18A2
MCD18A2·v062·dataset

Sunlight plants use to grow (Terra+Aqua, 1 km)

MODIS/Terra+Aqua Photosynthetically Active Radiation Daily/3-Hour L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V062
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS2
In plain English

What it measures. Estimates how much sunlight in the colors plants use for photosynthesis (visible light, 400-700 nanometers) reaches the ground, mapped worldwide. It gives values for each satellite pass and also every 3 hours.

How it's made. Calculated from MODIS instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites combined with geostationary weather satellite data, processed into a daily gridded map at 1 km resolution.

How & where you'd use it. Used in land and ecosystem models to study plant growth and how much carbon plants take up, and to track the energy available for crops and forests.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › REFLECTANCELAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ALBEDOLAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ANISOTROPY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-02-24 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (MODIS) · Aqua (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS2
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The MCD18A2 Version 6.2 is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) gridded Level 3 product produced daily at 1 kilometer pixel resolution with estimates of PAR every 3 hours. PAR is incident solar radiation in the visible spectrum (400-700 nanometers) and is an important variable in land-surface models that address a variety of scientific and application issues. The MCD18 products are based on a prototyping algorithm that uses multi-temporal signatures of MODIS data to derive surface reflectance and then calculate incident PAR using the look-up table (LUT) approach. The LUTs consider different types of loadings of aerosols and clouds at a variety of illumination/viewing geometry. Global PAR products are generated from MODIS and geostationary satellite data. Additional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are available in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD). Provided in the MOD18A2 product are layers for instantaneous PAR array for each individual MODIS overpass and 3-hour PAR array along with a View Zenith Angle layer. Known Issues * For complete information about known issues please refer to the [MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/knownissue?sensor=MODIS&sat=TerraAqua&as=62).

Get the data

mcd18a2_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MCD18A2",
    version="062",
    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 LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.