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Description

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra MOD09A1 Version 6.1 product provides an estimate of the surface spectral reflectance of Terra MODIS Bands 1 through 7 corrected for atmospheric conditions such as gasses, aerosols, and Rayleigh scattering. Along with the seven 500 meter (m) reflectance bands are two quality layers and four observation bands. For each pixel, a value is selected from all the acquisitions within the 8-day composite period. The criteria for the pixel choice include cloud and solar zenith. When several acquisitions meet the criteria the pixel with the minimum channel 3 (blue) value is used.

Known Issues

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for inputs to MODIS Version 6.1 surface reflectance data products: (1) Version 6.1 Level-1B (L1B) products have been improved by undergoing various calibration changes that include: changes to the response-versus-scan angle (RVS) approach that affects reflectance bands for Aqua and Terra MODIS, corrections to adjust for the optical crosstalk in Terra MODIS infrared (IR) bands, and corrections to the Terra MODIS forward look-up table (LUT) update for the period 2012 – 2017, and (2) A polarization correction has been applied to the L1B Reflective Solar Bands (RSB).

Product Summary

Platforms
Terra
Instruments
MODIS
Projects
TERRA
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
MODIS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2000-02-18 to Present
Temporal Resolution
8 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
MODIS Adaptive Processing System, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/MODAPS)
Concept ID
C2343111356-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
378988
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Vermote, E. (2021). MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V061 [Dataset]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD09A1.061 Date Accessed: 2026-06-26

File Naming Convention

MOD09A1.A2025209.h28v12.061.2025218035852.hdf

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (MOD09A1) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025209), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h28v12), the Version of the data collection (061), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025218035852), and the Data Format (hdf).

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT VALIDATION

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Satellite-based detection of agricultural flash droughts and associated vegetation responses in southeastern South America Masaro, Lumila, Lovino, Miguel A, Pierrestegui, M Josefina, Muller, Gabriela V, Dorigo, Wouter Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Reflectance, Root Zone Soil Moisture, Surface Soil Moisture
Response of Vegetation Phenology to Hydrothermal Variables on the QTP Using EVI and MSAVI Zhao, Zhijian, Lin, Hui, Wang, Li, Huang, Min, Wu, Lei, Tang, Linling, Yang, Tao, Xiao, Xin Albedo, Anisotropy, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Reflectance
Predicting Postfire Forest Mortality Using Remote Sensing Data and Machine Learning Shvetsov, E. G. Reflectance
The Arctic Boreal Burned Area (ABBA) Product Chen, Dong, Hall, Joanne V., HoffmanHall, Amanda, Shevade, Varada, Argueta, Fernanda, Liang, Xiaoyu, Loboda, Tatiana Forests, Fire Occurrence, Reforestation, Burned Area, Reflectance, Canopy Characteristics, Evergreen Vegetation, Crown, Deciduous Vegetation, Leaf Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Total Surface Water
A CNN-Transformer Hybrid Framework for Mapping Annual Wheat Fractional Cover from 2001-2023 using MODIS Satellite Data over Asia Li, Wenyuan, Liang, Shunlin, Chen, Yongzhe, Ma, Han, Xu, Jianglei, Ma, Yichuan, Chen, Zhongxin, Fang, Husheng, Zhang, Fengjiao Reflectance
Declining grassland canopy height in China under asymmetric biomass allocation Li, Huaqiang, Hu, Xinmiao, Li, Fei, Zhang, Yingjun, Lin, Kejian, Wang, Jie, Wang, Jiating Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Reflectance, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), VIEWING GEOMETRY, Terrain Elevation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Desert mycobiome of Saudi Arabia is driven by vegetation patterns Mani, Israel, Mikryukov, Vladimir, Alkahtani, Saad, Tedersoo, Leho Reflectance, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Annual irrigated cropland mapping reveals uneven expansion and rising Tolera, Abera Misgana, Zhang, Chao, You, Nanshan, Dong, Jinwei Crop/Plant Yields, Landscape Patterns, Cropland, Reflectance, Vegetation Cover
A High-Resolution Forest Soil Organic Carbon Dataset for China Derived from an Enhanced Quantile Regression Forest Model Chen, Jizhen, Ou, Yuxing, Fan, Zihao, Zhang, Xin, Xiao, Wenfa, Sun, Qiwu, Sun, Xiangyang, Huang, Zhilin Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Reflectance, Photosynthesis, Primary Production, Vegetation Productivity
Landsat observations reveal increasing trend in lake clarity on the Wang, Shenglei, Zhang, Wenzhi, Tan, Zhangru, Spyrakos, Evangelos, Shi, Kun, Somasundaram, Deepakrishna, Wu, Zijun, Zhang, Fangfang, Li, Junsheng, Zhang, Bing Reflectance
Local drivers of Rift Valley fever outbreaks in Mauritania: A one health approach combining ecological, vector, host and livestock movement data Barry, Yahya, Metz, Markus, Krisztian, Lina, Haas, Julia, Brunn, Victoria-Leandra, Beyit, Abdellahi Diambar, El Bara, Ahmed, El Mamy Beyat, Ahmed Bezeid, Habiboulah, Habiboulah, Neteler, Markus, Cetre-Sossah, Catherine, Arsevska, Elena Reflectance, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)
Mapping heartwater risk in Guadeloupe using a combination of spatial modelling approaches Dufleit, Victor, Etter, Eric, Guerrini, Laure Reflectance
Monitoring and modeling seasonally varying anthropogenic and biogenic CO2 over a large tropical metropolitan area Alberti, Rafaela Cruz Alves, Lauvaux, Thomas, Vara-Vela, Angel Liduvino, Barrero, Ricard Segura, Karoff, Christoffer, Andrade, Maria de Fatima, Marques, Marcia Talita Amorim, Benavente, Noelia Rojas, Cabral, Osvaldo Machado Rodrigues, da Rocha, Humberto Ribeiro, Ynoue, Rita Yuri Reflectance
Modification and Comparison of Two Urban Vegetation Models Over Southern MadsenColford, Sabrina, Hutyra, Lucy, Smith, Ian, Wu, Dien, Arain, M. Altaf, Staebler, Ralf, Ma, William, RestrepoCoupe, Natalia, Wunch, Debra Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Plant Phenology, Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Reflectance, Urban Lands, Land Use/Land Cover, Urbanization/Urban Sprawl, Infrastructure, Anisotropy
Long time-series and high-frequency ecological evaluation of Henan section of the Yellow River Guo, Jianzhong, Xu, Daozhu, Xu, Jian, Zhu, Ruoxin, Li, Ning Reflectance
Investigation of Urban Heat Islands and modeling of Land Surface Mandal, Nirup Sundar, Chanda, Kironmala Reflectance
Impacts of meteorological drought on peak vegetation productivity of grasslands from perspectives of canopy structure and leaf physiology Bai, Wenrui, Wang, Huanjiong, Xiao, Jingfeng, Li, Xing, Ge, Quansheng Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Reflectance, Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)
Integrating remote sensing and deep learning forecasting model: A fluid-environment interface study Hassanian, Reza, Cavallaro, Gabriele, Riedel, Morris Reflectance, Precipitation, Precipitation Amount, Precipitation Rate, Snow, Rain
Integrating Remote Sensing and machine learning for dynamic burn probability mapping in data-limited contexts Diaz-Vazquez, Diego, Casillas-Garcia, Luis Fernando, Garcia- Gonzalez, Alejandro, Graf Montero, Sergio Humberto, Marquez Rubio, Jose Isaac, Llamas Llamas, Juan Jose, Gradilla Hernandez, Misael Sebastian Reflectance, Land Surface Temperature, Emissivity
Incorporation of needleleaf traits improves estimation of light Pan, Baihong, Xiao, Xiangming, Pan, Li, Meng, Cheng, Blanken, Peter D., Burns, Sean P., Celis, Jorge A., Zhang, Chenchen, Qin, Yuanwei Reflectance
Incorporating environmental stress improves estimation of photosynthesis Gao, Lun, Guan, Kaiyu, Jiang, Chongya, Lu, Xiaoman, Wang, Sheng, Ainsworth, Elizabeth A., Wu, Xiaocui, Chen, Min Reflectance, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Plant Characteristics, REFLECTED INFRARED, Gross Primary Production (gpp), Land Use/Land Cover Classification
Satellite Remote Sensing Reveals More Beneficial Effect of Forest Plant Diversity on Drought Resistance in More Arid Areas of Yunnan, China Ma, Guotao, Sun, Hao, Hu, Keke, Zhou, Hong Reflectance
Satellite Monitoring of Postfire Normalized Burn Ratio Dynamics in Shvetsov, E. G. Reflectance, Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area
Revealing European-wide ecosystem strategies to drought from space Chen, Qi, Timmermans, Joris, van Bodegom, Peter M. Reflectance, Evapotranspiration, Latent Heat Flux
Retrieval of 1 km Resolution Mid-Infrared Land Surface Emissivity Liu, Weihan, Cheng, Jie Reflectance, Emissivity, Land Surface Temperature, Clouds, Cloud Frequency, Cloud Height, Albedo, Snow Cover
You're viewing 25 of 642

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
sur_refl_b01 Surface Reflectance Band 1 (620-670 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_b02 Surface Reflectance Band 2 (841-876 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_b03 Surface Reflectance Band 3 (459-479 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_b04 Surface Reflectance Band 4 (545-565 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_b05 Surface Reflectance Band 5 (1230-1250 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_b06 Surface Reflectance Band 6 (1628-1652 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_b07 Surface Reflectance Band 7 (2105-2155 nm) N/A int16 -28672 -100 to 16000 0.0001 N/A
sur_refl_day_of_year Day of the year for the pixel Julian day uint16 65535 1 to 366 N/A N/A
sur_refl_qc_500m Surface reflectance 500m band quality control flags Bit Field uint32 4294967295 0 to 4294966531 N/A N/A
sur_refl_raz MODIS relative azimuth angle Degree int16 0 -18000 to 18000 0.01 N/A
sur_refl_state_500m Surface reflectance 500m state flags Bit Field uint16 65535 0 to 57343 N/A N/A
sur_refl_szen MODIS solar zenith angle Degree int16 0 0 to 18000 0.01 N/A
sur_refl_vzen MODIS view zenith angle Degree int16 0 0 to 18000 0.01 N/A
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