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Full catalog/MCD43D37
MCD43D37·v061·dataset

Quality flags for land reflectance, shortwave-infrared (Terra+Aqua, daily)

MODIS/Terra+Aqua BRDF/Albedo QA ValidobsBand5 Daily L3 Global 30ArcSec CMG V061
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS2
In plain English

What it measures. Quality-control flags, not a physical measurement: it records how good and reliable the land-reflectance readings are for one specific MODIS color channel (band 5, in the shortwave-infrared), daily across the whole globe at about 1 km resolution.

How it's made. Generated daily from 16 days of combined Terra and Aqua MODIS data, as the quality layer accompanying the agency's reflectance and albedo products.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes companion file: users check these flags to pick out only the highest-quality reflectance results for their own analyses, rather than using it as a standalone dataset.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ALBEDOLAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ANISOTROPYLAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › REFLECTANCE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-02-16 → 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 MCD43D37 Version 6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) QA ValidObs Band 5 dataset is produced daily using 16 days of Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data at 30 arc second (1,000 meter (m)) resolution. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day which is reflected in the Julian date in the file name. This Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) product covers the entire globe for use in climate simulation models. Due to the large file size, each MCD43D product contains just one data layer. MCD43D37 provides MODIS band 5 valid observation quality information for the MCD43D products. Users are urged to use the band specific quality flags to isolate the highest quality full inversion results for their own science applications as described in the [User Guide](https://www.umb.edu/spectralmass/modis-user-guide-v006-and-v0061/mcd43d-cmg-30-arc-second-products/). MCD43D37 contains the valid observation quality layer representing each of the 16 days of the retrieval period for MODIS band 5. 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=61).

Get the data

mcd43d37_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MCD43D37",
    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.