Data Set Characteristics Product Description The MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)/Albedo products describe how land surfaces appear under perfect scattering conditions without the influence of view angle. Every 16 days, the BRDF/Albedo algorithm relies on multidate, atmospherically corrected, cloud-cleared data and a semiempirical kernel-driven bidirectional reflectance model to determine a global set of parameters describing the BRDF of the land surface. These one kilometer gridded parameters are then used to determine directional hemispherical reflectance ("black-sky albedo"), bihemispherical reflectance ("white-sky albedo"), and nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) for seven spectral bands and (in the case of albedo) three broad bands. By providing model parameters and extensive quality information, the MODIS BRDF/Albedo products offer the global remote sensing and modeling community the additional flexibility to derive reflectance and albedo measures particularly suited to their specific applications. BRDF/Albedo products are provided globally as discrete 1200 by 1200 element tiles in a Sinusoidal Grid projection (MOD43Bs) and on 0.05 degree Climate Model Grids (MOD43Cs), both in HDF-EOS format.The MODIS/Terra Albedo 16-day L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG product, MOD43C1, provides measures of Earth's white-sky and black-sky albedo. These measures are derived averages computed from the 1 km global albedo product (MOD43B3), projected into a Climate Model Grid. The MOD43C1 image above is an example of the global albedo data offered in this product. The rainbow color scheme marks high albedo areas, such as the sands of the Sahara Desert, in blues, while lower albedos, such as the dense forests of northern Europe, are displayed in reds. NOTE:These products are validated, meaning that product uncertainties are well defined over a range of representative conditions. Although there may be later improved versions, these data are ready for use in scientific publications.
*MODIS BRDF/Albedo QA Science Data Sets
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