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MODIS/Terra+Aqua Photosynthetically Active Radiation Daily/3-Hour L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V062

Metadata Updated: August 30, 2025

The MCD18C2 Version 6.2 is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) gridded Level 3 product produced daily at 0.05 degree (5,600 meters at the equator) resolution with estimates of PAR every 3 hours. PAR is incident solar radiation in the visible spectrum (400-700 nanometers) and is an important variable in land-surface models that address a variety of scientific and application issues. The MCD18 products are based on a prototyping algorithm that uses multi-temporal signatures of MODIS data to derive surface reflectance and then calculate incident PAR using the look-up table (LUT) approach. The LUTs consider different types of loadings of aerosols and clouds at a variety of illumination/viewing geometry. Global PAR products are generated from MODIS and geostationary satellite data. Additional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are available in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).Provided in the MOD18C2 product are layers for instantaneous PAR array for each individual MODIS overpass and 3-hour PAR array along with a View Zenith Angle layer.Known Issues For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions MODIS shortwave infrared bands are included in the retrieval algorithm, which significantly reduces estimation uncertainties in cloud- and snow-covered pixels. Inclusion of a new multispectral algorithm has been implemented to replace the blue band retrieval algorithm. An improved climatology of surface spectral and broadband albedo was produced and used in the retrieval algorithm.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date August 30, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date August 30, 2025
Publisher LP DAAC;NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/MODAPS
Maintainer
Identifier 10.5067/MODIS/MCD18C2.062
Data Last Modified 2025-08-28
Category Earth Science
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 6e277136-e74c-440e-b523-be1114f86f54
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
Homepage URL https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search?q=C2486294617-LPCLOUD
Old Spatial {"NorthBoundingCoordinate":90,"WestBoundingCoordinate":-180,"EastBoundingCoordinate":180,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-90},"CARTESIAN"
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 219417121ab9cedd566dee5948602cfdd68c0e0f6c62b4f8d8061ea71655f6dd
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial
Temporal 2000-02-24/2000-02-24

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