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Full catalog/MYD09CMG
MYD09CMG·v061·dataset

True surface color of the land (Aqua, daily, 0.05 degree)

MODIS/Aqua Surface Reflectance Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V061
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS2
In plain English

What it measures. Shows the true surface color of the land each day across seven light bands, after removing the haze, gases, and scattering the atmosphere adds. It also includes some surface-warmth readings from heat-sensing bands.

How it's made. Produced from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite, atmospherically corrected and resampled to a coarse global grid suited for climate models.

How & where you'd use it. Used to monitor vegetation, land cover, and surface changes worldwide, and as input to climate studies at a broad scale.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › REFLECTANCE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2002-07-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byAqua (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 MYD09CMG Version 6.1 product provides an estimate of the surface spectral reflectance of Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Bands 1 through 7, resampled to 5600 meter (m) pixel resolution and corrected for atmospheric conditions such as gasses, aerosols, and Rayleigh scattering. The MOD09CMG data product provides 25 layers including MODIS bands 1 through 7; Brightness Temperature data from thermal bands 20, 21, 31, and 32; along with Quality Assurance (QA) and observation bands. This product is based on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) for use in climate simulation models. Known Issues * A [striping anomaly in Band 5](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/displayissue?id=939) of the MYD09CMG V61 product has been identified, caused by a dead detector in the AQUA Band 5, affecting data accuracy throughout the Aqua MODIS mission. * 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=Aqua&as=61).

Get the data

myd09cmg_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MYD09CMG",
    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.