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Full catalog/MOD15A2GFS
MOD15A2GFS·v6·dataset

How dense the leaves are, gap-filled (Terra, 1 km)

MODIS/Terra Gap-Filled, Smoothed LAI-FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 1km SIN Grid
biosphere NASA LAADS Level 4 active HDF-EOS
In plain English

What it measures. Gap-filled and smoothed measures of how dense a plant canopy is, given as leaf area index (layers of leaves per patch of ground) and the fraction of useful sunlight the canopy absorbs, on a 1-kilometer grid every 8 days.

How it's made. Produced from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Terra satellite, then cleaned up by filling gaps and smoothing the values for a more continuous record.

How & where you'd use it. Used to calculate plant photosynthesis, water loss, and growth, which in turn support studies of terrestrial carbon, water, and energy cycles.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION INDEX › LEAF AREA INDEX (LAI)BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › LEAF CHARACTERISTICS › LEAF AREA INDEX (LAI)BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION › FRACTION OF ABSORBED PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION (FAPAR)

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2001-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

The MODIS/Terra Gap-Filled, Smoothed Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) 8-Day L4 Global 1km SIN Grid product with short-name MOD15A2GFS, is composited every 8 days at 1-kilometer resolution on a Sinusoidal grid. The LAI variable defines the number of equivalent layers of leaves relative to a unit of ground area, whereas FPAR measures the proportion of available radiation in the photosynthetically active wavelengths that are absorbed by a canopy. Both variables are used as satellite-derived parameters for calculating surface photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, and net primary production, which in turn are used to calculate terrestrial energy, carbon, water cycle processes, and biogeochemistry of vegetation.

Get the data

mod15a2gfs_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MOD15A2GFS",
    version="6",
    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.