MCD43A2.061 MODIS BRDF-Albedo Quality Daily 500m

Page Summary

• The MCD43A2 V6.1 dataset provides daily 500-meter quality information for 16-day MODIS BRDF/Albedo products (MCD43A3 and MCD43A4).

• It includes quality and observation data for individual MODIS land bands 1-7 as well as overall BRDF/Albedo quality.

• The dataset is available from February 24, 2000, to October 5, 2025, with daily updates.

• MODIS data 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/MCD43A2")

Cadence

1 Day

Tags

albedo brdf daily global modis nasa reflectance satellite-imagery usgs

quality

Description

The MCD43A2 V6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Quality dataset is a 500 meter daily 16-day product. It contains all the quality information for the corresponding 16-day MCD43A3 Albedo and the MCD43A4 Nadir-BRDF (NBAR) products.

The MCD43A2 contains individual band quality and observation information for the MODIS land bands 1-7, along with the overall BRDF/Albedo quality information.

See dataset user guide for more information.

Documentation:

• User's Guide

• Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD)

• General Documentation

Bands

Bands

Pixel size: 500 meters (all bands)

Name	Units	Min	Max	Scale	Pixel Size	Description
Snow_BRDF_Albedo					500 meters	Snow-free or snow BRDF/albedo retrieved
Bitmask for Snow_BRDF_Albedo Bit 0: Mandatory QA 0: Snow-free albedo retrieved 1: Snow albedo retrieved
BRDF_Albedo_Platform					500 meters	BRDF albedo platform information
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Platform Bits 0-1: Platform 0: Terra 1: Terra/Aqua 2: Aqua
BRDF_Albedo_LandWaterType					500 meters	Land/water type
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_LandWaterType Bits 0-2: Land/water type 0: Shallow ocean 1: Land (nothing else but land) 2: Ocean coastlines and lake shorelines 3: Shallow inland water 4: Ephemeral water 5: Deep inland water 6: Moderate or continental ocean 7: Deep ocean
BRDF_Albedo_LocalSolarNoon	deg	0	254		500 meters	Solar zenith angle of local solar noon
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band1					500 meters	Valid observation for band 1
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band1 Bit 0: Day 1 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 1: Day 2 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 2: Day 3 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 3: Day 4 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 4: Day 5 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 5: Day 6 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 6: Day 7 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 7: Day 8 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 8: Day 9 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 9: Day 10 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 10: Day 11 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 11: Day 12 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 12: Day 13 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 13: Day 14 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 14: Day 15 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation Bit 15: Day 16 reflectance quality 0: Observation not used 1: Valid clear observation
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band2					500 meters	Valid observation for band 2 (same bit meaning as in band 1)
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band3					500 meters	Valid observation for band 3 (same bit meaning as in band 1)
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band4					500 meters	Valid observation for band 4 (same bit meaning as in band 1)
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band5					500 meters	Valid observation for band 5 (same bit meaning as in band 1)
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band6					500 meters	Valid observation for band 6 (same bit meaning as in band 1)
BRDF_Albedo_ValidObs_Band7					500 meters	Valid observation for band 7 (same bit meaning as in band 1)
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band1					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 1
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band1 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 1 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 & < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band2					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 2
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band2 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 2 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 & < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band3					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 3
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band3 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 3 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 & < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band4					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 4
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band4 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 4 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 & < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band5					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 5
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band5 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 5 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 & < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band6					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 6
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band6 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 6 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 & < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band7					500 meters	BRDF inversion information for band 7
Bitmask for BRDF_Albedo_Band_Quality_Band7 Bits 0-2: BRDF inversion information for band 7 0: Best quality, full inversion (WoDs and RMSE are good) 1: Good quality, full inversion (also including the cases with no clear sky observations over the day of interest and those with a Solar Zenith Angle that is > 70 degrees even though WoDs and RMSE majority are good) 2: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 7) 3: Magnitude inversion (numobs >= 2 and < 7) 4: Fill value
BRDF_Albedo_Uncertainty		0	32766	0.001	500 meters	BRDF inversion information

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/MCD43A2.061

Explore with Earth Engine

Important: Earth Engine is a platform for petabyte-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets, both for public benefit and for business and government users. Earth Engine is free to use for research, education, and nonprofit use. To get started, please register for Earth Engine access.

Code Editor (JavaScript)

var dataset = ee.ImageCollection('MODIS/061/MCD43A2')
                  .filter(ee.Filter.date('2018-01-01', '2018-05-01'));
var defaultVisualization = dataset.select('Snow_BRDF_Albedo');
var defaultVisualizationVis = {
  min: 0.0,
  max: 1.0,
};
Map.setCenter(6.746, 46.529, 6);
Map.addLayer(
    defaultVisualization, defaultVisualizationVis, 'Default visualization');

Open in Code Editor

MCD43A2.061 MODIS BRDF-Albedo Quality Daily 500m

The MCD43A2 V6.1 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function and Albedo (BRDF/Albedo) Quality dataset is a 500 meter daily 16-day product. It contains all the quality information for the corresponding 16-day MCD43A3 Albedo and the MCD43A4 Nadir-BRDF (NBAR) products. The MCD43A2 contains individual band quality and observation information for the MODIS land …

MODIS/061/MCD43A2, 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/MCD43A2.061
• https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD43A2.061