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Full catalog/MOD16A2GF
MOD16A2GF·v061·dataset

How much water plants release, gap-filled (Terra, 8-day, 500 m)

MODIS/Terra Net Evapotranspiration Gap-Filled 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V061
atmosphere NASA LPCLOUD Level 4 active HDF-EOS2
In plain English

What it measures. How much water plants and soil release into the air through evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration), plus the related heat energy, at 500-meter detail in 8-day chunks.

How it's made. Modeled from MODIS data on NASA's Terra satellite using the Penman-Monteith approach, combining satellite measures of vegetation, reflectivity, and land cover with daily weather data; this 'gap-filled' version repairs poor-quality pixels at year's end.

How & where you'd use it. Helps estimate crop and ecosystem water use, irrigation needs, and drought stress. Because it is produced only after each year ends, it is not available in near-real time.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › EVAPOTRANSPIRATIONBIOSPHERE › ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS › ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS › PHOTOSYNTHESISBIOSPHERE › ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS › ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS › PRIMARY PRODUCTIONATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › PRECIPITATION PROFILES › LATENT HEAT FLUX

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS2
  • 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 Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MOD16A2GF Version 6.1 Evapotranspiration/Latent Heat Flux (ET/LE) product is a year-end gap-filled 8-day composite dataset produced at 500 meter (m) pixel resolution. The algorithm used for the MOD16 data product collection is based on the logic of the Penman-Monteith equation, which includes inputs of daily meteorological reanalysis data along with MODIS remotely sensed data products such as vegetation property dynamics, albedo, and land cover. The MOD16A2GF will be generated at the end of each year when the entire yearly 8-day [MOD15A2H](https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.061) is available. Hence, the gap-filled MOD16A2GF is the improved MOD16, which has cleaned the poor-quality inputs from 8-day Leaf Area Index and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (LAI/FPAR) based on the Quality Control (QC) label for every pixel. If any LAI/FPAR pixel did not meet the quality screening criteria, its value is determined through linear interpolation. However, users cannot get MOD16A2GF in near-real time because it will be generated only at the end of a given year. Provided in the MOD16A2GF product are layers for composited ET, LE, Potential ET (PET), and Potential LE (PLE) along with a quality control layer. Two low resolution browse images, ET and LE, are also available for each MOD16A2GF granule. The pixel values for the two Evapotranspiration layers (ET and PET) are the sum of all eight days within the composite period, and the pixel values for the two Latent Heat layers (LE and PLE) are the average of all eight days within the composite period. The last acquisition period of each year is a 5 or 6-day composite period, depending on the year. Known Issues * Operational and uncertainty issues are provided under Section 3 in 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=Terra&as=61).

Get the data

mod16a2gf_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MOD16A2GF",
    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.