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Full catalog/MCD19A1CMGO
MCD19A1CMGO·v061·dataset

True surface colors, extra bands (MODIS, daily, 0.05 deg)

MODIS/Terra+Aqua Surface Reflectance (Bands 8-12) from MAIAC, Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V061
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS2
In plain English

What it measures. A daily global map of the true colors of the land surface as they'd appear at ground level without atmospheric haze, for an extra set of MODIS bands (8-12), at about 0.05-degree (roughly 5.6 km) resolution. It includes versions adjusted to standard sun and viewing angles.

How it's made. Made by combining MODIS observations from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites and applying the MAIAC atmospheric-correction method, which uses time-series analysis to remove gases and aerosols, gridded daily worldwide.

How & where you'd use it. A surface-reflectance input for land and ocean-band studies and for feeding other products; mainly used by researchers rather than directly by the public.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › REFLECTANCE

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 MCD19A1CMGO Version 6.1 data product is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) Surface Reflectance Level 3 (Bands 8-12) product produced daily in a 0.05 degree (5,600 meters at the equator) Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). The MCD19A1CMGO product is corrected for atmospheric gases and aerosols using a new MAIAC algorithm that is based on a time series analysis and a combination of pixel- and image-based processing. The MODIS MAIAC products provide an estimate of the surface spectral reflectance, also referred to as Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BRF), as it would be measured at ground-level in the absence of atmospheric scattering or absorption. The Surface Reflectance dataset includes BRF, BRF normalized to a fixed geometry of solar zenith angle at 45° and nadir view, and Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) normalized to the nadir view and local sun angle at 1:30 pm. The MCD19A1CMGO MAIAC Surface Reflectance product for ocean bands includes 19 Science Dataset (SDS) layers: BRF for bands 8-12, BRF normalized to a fixed geometry for bands 8-12, NBAR for bands 8-12, Quality Assessment (QA) bits, cosine of solar zenith angle, cosine of view zenith angle, and relative azimuth angle. A low-resolution browse is also included. Known Issues * Known issues are described in Section 6 of the User Guide. * 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=61).

Get the data

mcd19a1cmgo_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MCD19A1CMGO",
    version="061",
    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.