MCD43A1.061 MODIS BRDF-Albedo Model Parameters Daily 500m

Page Summary

• The MCD43A1 V6.1 dataset provides daily 500-meter Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo Model Parameters.

• This dataset includes three model parameters (isotropic, volumetric, and geometric) for MODIS bands 1-7 and visible, near infrared, and shortwave bands.

• Mandatory Quality layers are provided for each of the 10 bands included in the dataset.

• Data is available from 2000-02-24 to 2025-10-06 and is provided by the NASA LP DAAC at the USGS EROS Center.

• MODIS data and products acquired through the LP DAAC have no restrictions on subsequent use, sale, or redistribution.

Dataset Availability

2000-02-24T00:00:00Z–2026-03-03T00:00:00Z

Dataset Producer

NASA LP DAAC at the USGS EROS Center

Earth Engine Snippet

ee.ImageCollection("MODIS/061/MCD43A1")

Cadence

1 Day

Tags

albedo brdf daily global modis nasa reflectance satellite-imagery usgs

mcd43a1

Description

The MCD43A1 V6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Model Parameters dataset is a 500 meter daily 16-day product. The Julian date represents the 9th day of the 16-day retrieval period, and consequently the observations are weighted to estimate the BRDF/Albedo for that day. The MCD43A1 algorithm, as is with all combined products, chooses the best representative pixel from a pool that includes all the acquisitions from both the Terra and Aqua sensors from the retrieval period.

The MCD43A1 provides the three model weighting parameters (isotropic, volumetric, and geometric) for each of the MODIS bands 1 through 7 and the visible (vis), near infrared (nir), and shortwave bands used to derive the Albedo and BRDF products (MCD43A3 and MCD43A4). The Mandatory Quality layers for each of the 10 bands are supplied as well.

Documentation:

• User's Guide

• Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD)

• General Documentation

Bands

Bands

Pixel size: 500 meters (all bands)

Name	Min	Max	Scale	Pixel Size	Wavelength	Description
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band1_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	620-670nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 1
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band1_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	620-670nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 1
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band1_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	620-670nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 1
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band2_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	841-876nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 2
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band2_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	841-876nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 2
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band2_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	841-876nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 2
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band3_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	459-479nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 3
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band3_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	459-479nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 3
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band3_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	459-479nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 3
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band4_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	545-565nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 4
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band4_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	545-565nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 4
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band4_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	545-565nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 4
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band5_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	1230-1250nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 5
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band5_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	1230-1250nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 5
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band5_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	1230-1250nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 5
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band6_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	1628-1652nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 6
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band6_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	1628-1652nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 6
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band6_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	1628-1652nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 6
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band7_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	2105-2155nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for band 7
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band7_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	2105-2155nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for band 7
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band7_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	2105-2155nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for band 7
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_vis_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	None	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for the visible band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_vis_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	None	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for the visible band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_vis_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	None	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for the visible band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_nir_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	858nm	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for the NIR band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_nir_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	858nm	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for the NIR band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_nir_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	858nm	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for the NIR band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_shortwave_iso	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	None	BDRF/Albedo isotropic parameter for the shortwave band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_shortwave_vol	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	None	BDRF/Albedo volumetric parameter for the shortwave band
BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_shortwave_geo	0	32766	0.001	500 meters	None	BDRF/Albedo geometric parameter for the shortwave band
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band1				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 1
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band1 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band2				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 2
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band2 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band3				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 3
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band3 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band4				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 4
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band4 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band5				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 5
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band5 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band6				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 6
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band6 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band7				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for band 7
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_Band7 Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_vis				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for visible broadband
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_vis Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_nir				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for NIR broadband
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_nir Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_shortwave				500 meters	None	BRDF albedo mandatory quality for shortwave broadband
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_shortwave Bit 0: Mandatory QA bit index 0: Processed, good quality (full BRDF inversions) 1: Processed, see other QA (magnitude BRDF inversions)

Terms of Use

Terms of Use

MODIS data and products acquired through the LP DAAC have no restrictions on subsequent use, sale, or redistribution.

Citations

Citations:

• Please visit LP DAAC 'Citing Our Data' page for information on citing LP DAAC datasets.

DOIs

• https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A1.061

Explore with Earth Engine

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Code Editor (JavaScript)

var dataset = ee.ImageCollection('MODIS/061/MCD43A1')
                  .filter(ee.Filter.date('2018-05-01', '2018-07-01'));
var defaultVisualization = dataset.select([
  'BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band1_iso', 'BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band4_iso',
  'BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_Band3_iso'
]);
var defaultVisualizationVis = {
  min: 0.0,
  max: 1400.0,
  gamma: 2.0,
};
Map.setCenter(6.746, 46.529, 6);
Map.addLayer(
    defaultVisualization, defaultVisualizationVis, 'Default visualization');

Open in Code Editor

MCD43A1.061 MODIS BRDF-Albedo Model Parameters Daily 500m

The MCD43A1 V6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Model Parameters dataset is a 500 meter daily 16-day product. The Julian date represents the 9th day of the 16-day retrieval period, and consequently the observations are weighted to estimate the BRDF/Albedo for that day. The MCD43A1 algorithm, as is …

MODIS/061/MCD43A1, albedo,brdf,daily,global,modis,nasa,reflectance,satellite-imagery,usgs

2000-02-24T00:00:00Z/2026-03-03T00:00:00Z

-90 -180 90 180

Google Earth Engine

https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets

• https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A1.061
• https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A1.061