MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m, Version 5

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Entry ID

MYD10_L2v5

Summary

The MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m (MYD10_L2) data set contains snow cover and Quality Assessment (QA) data, latitudes and longitudes in compressed Hierarchical Data Format-Earth Observing System (HDF-EOS) format, and corresponding metadata. Latitude and longitude geolocation fields are at 5 km resolution while all other fields are at 500 m resolution. Version 5 (V005), the latest version of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data available has two separate snow fields. The first field, snow cover, classifies each cloud-free land or inland water body pixel as snow-covered or snow-free, the second field, fractional snow cover, provides the percent of snow cover within each pixel for land and inland water bodies. MODIS snow cover data are based on a snow mapping algorithm that employs a Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and other criteria tests.

Data are stored in HDF-EOS format, and are available from 4 July 2002 to present via FTP. Data can also be obtained in GeoTIFF format by ordering the data through the Data Pool.

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Caption: MYD10_L2 Version 4 data, 15 January 2004

Geographic Coverage

 

Spatial Coordinates:
N: 90°     S: -90°     E: 180°     W: -180°    

Data Set Citation

Dataset Creator: D. Hall, V. Salomonson
Dataset Title: MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m, Version 5
Dataset Release Date: 2006-12-18
Dataset Release Place: Boulder, CO
Dataset Publisher: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Version: 5
Data Presentation Form: Digital media
Online Resource: http://nsidc.org/data/myd10_l2v5.html

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2002-07-04

Data Resolution

Latitude Resolution: 500 m
Longitude Resolution: 500 m
Temporal Resolution: 5 min

Location Keywords

  • Geographic Region Global Land

Science Keywords

  • Cryosphere Snow/Ice Lake Ice
  • Cryosphere Snow/Ice Lake Ice Fractional Snow Cover
  • Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover
  • Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Lake Ice
  • Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover
  • Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover Fractional Snow Cover

Ancillary Keywords

  • Antarctic
  • Arctic
  • Climatology
  • DAAC
  • ECS
  • EOS PM-1
  • EOSDIS
  • Global Change
  • Lake Ice
  • NASA
  • NSIDC
  • Polar
  • Remote Sensing
  • Snow
  • Snow Cover
  • Snow On Ice
  • Swath

ISO Topic Category (View Definitions)

  • Climatology/Meteorology/Atmosphere

Platform

  • AQUA Earth Observing System, AQUA

Instrument

  • MODIS Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
  • SPECTRORADIOMETERS

Project

  • EOSDIS Earth Observing System Data Information System
  • ESIP Earth Science Information Partners Program

Quality

Quality indicators for MODIS snow data can be found in three places:

* AutomaticQualityFlag and the ScienceQualityFlag metadata objects and their corresponding explanations: AutomaticQualityFlagExplanation and ScienceQualityFlagExplanation located in the CoreMetadata.0 global attributes * Custom local attributes associated with each SDS, for example snow cover * Snow Cover Pixel QA data field.

These quality indicators are generated during production or in post-production scientific and quality checks of the data product. For more information on local and global attributes, go to one of the following links:

* MOD10L2 and MYD10L2 Local Snow Cover Attributes, Version 5 * MOD10L2 and MYD10L2 Global Attributes, Version 5

The AutomaticQualityFlag is automatically set according to conditions for meeting data criteria in the snow mapping algorithm. In most cases, the flag is set to either Passed or Suspect, and in rare instances, it may be set to Failed. Suspect means that a significant percentage of the data were anomalous and that further analysis should be done to determine the source of anomalies. The AutomaticQualityFlagExplanation contains a brief message explaining the reason for the setting of the AutomaticQualityFlag. The ScienceQualityFlag and the ScienceQualityFlagExplanation maybe updated after production, either after an automated QA program is run or after the data product is inspected by a qualified snow scientist. Content and explanation of this flag are dynamic so it should always be examined if present in the external metadata file.

The snow algorithm identifies missing data and reports them in the output product. Certain expected anomalous conditions may exist with the input data such as a few missing lines or unusable data from the MODIS sensor. In these cases, the snow algorithm makes no snow decision for an affected pixel. Summary statistics are calculated for these conditions and reported as Valid EV Obs Band x percent and Saturated EV Obs Band 1 percent local attributes Riggs, Hall, and Salomonson 2006). In addition to these data values, the product contains quality information at the pixel level.

The Snow Cover Pixel QA data field provides additional information on algorithm results for each pixel within a MODIS scene and is used as a measure of usefulness for snow-cover data. The QA data are stored as coded integer values and tell if algorithm results were nominal, abnormal, or if other defined conditions were encountered for a pixel (Riggs, Hall, and Salomonson 2006). For example, intermediate checks for theoretical bounding of reflectance data and the NDSI ratio are made in the algorithm. In theory, reflectance values should lie within the 0-100 percent range, and the NDSI ratio should lie within the -1.0 to +1.0 range. Summary statistics are kept for pixels that exceed these theoretical limits; however, the test for snow is done regardless of violations of these limits.

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: MODIS Land Quality Assessment Web site provides updated quality information for each product.

Data Set Progress

IN WORK

Originating Center

MODAPS

Data Center

National Snow and Ice Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org
Data Set ID: MYD10_L24

Data Center Personnel

Name: NSIDC User Services
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/daac/index.html
Data Set ID: MYD10_L24

Data Center Personnel

Name: NSIDC DAAC User Services
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Media: FTP
Distribution Size: 0.5 - 10 MB
Distribution Format: GeoTIFF

Distribution Media: FTP
Distribution Size: 0.5 - 10 MB
Distribution Format: HDF-EOS

Personnel

Dorothy K. Hall
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Mail stop 614.1
City: Greenbelt
Province or State: MD
Postal Code: 20771

Vince V. Salomonson
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
Room 809 WBB
Department of Meteorology
University of Utah
City: Salt Lake City
Province or State: UT
Postal Code: 84112
Country: US

George A. Riggs
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Science Systems and Applications, Inc.
Mail stop 614.1
City: Greenbelt
Province or State: MD
Postal Code: 20771

NSIDC USER SERVICES
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

Related URL

VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE
MODIS DAAC page at NSIDC

Reference

Diner, D. J., J. V. Martonchik, C. Borel, S. A. W. Gerstl, H. R. Gordon, Y. Knyazikhin, R. Myneni, B. Pinty, and M. M. Verstraete. 1999. MISR Level-2 Surface Retrieval Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document. Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). 1996. EOS Ground System (EGS) Systems and Operations Concept. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center.

Hall, Dorothy K., J. L. Foster, D. L. Verbyla, A. G. Klein, and C. S. Benson. 1998. Assessment of Snow Cover Mapping Accuracy in a Variety of Vegetation Cover Densities in Central Alaska. Remote Sensing of the Environment 66:129-137.

Hall, Dorothy K. and J. Martinec. 1985. Remote Sensing of Ice and Snow. London: Chapman and Hall.

Hall, Dorothy K., George A. Riggs, and Vincent V. Salomonson. September 2001a. Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) for the MODIS Snow-, Lake Ice- and Sea Ice-Mapping Algorithms. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. .

Hall, Dorothy K., J. L. Foster, Vincent V. Salomonson, A. G. Klein, and J. Y. L. Chien. 2001b. Development of a Technique to Assess Snow-Cover Mapping Accuracy From Space. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 39(2):232-238.

Hapke, B. 1993. Theory of Reflectance and Emittance Spectroscopy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Klein, A. MODIS Snow Albedo Prototype. 2003. Accessed July 2003.

Klein, A. G., and Julienne. Stroeve. 2002. Development and Validation of a Snow Albedo Algorithm for the MODIS Instrument. Annals of Glaciology 34:45-52.


Klein, A. G., Dorothy K. Hall, and George A. Riggs. 1998. Improving Snow-Cover Mapping in Forests Through the Use of a Canopy Reflectance Model. Hydrologic Processes 12(10-11):1723-1744.

Markham, B. L. and J. L. Barker. 1986. Landsat MSS and TM Post-Calibration Dynamic Ranges, Exoatmospheric Reflectances and At-Satellite Temperatures. EOSAT Technical Notes 1:3-8.

MODIS Characterization and Support Team (MCST). 2000. MODIS Level-1B Product User's Guide for Level-1B Version 2.3.x Release 2. MCST Document #MCM-PUG-01-U-DNCN. MODIS Science and Instrument Team. MODIS Web. July 2003. Accessed October 2000.

Pearson II, F. 1990. Map Projections: Theory and Applications. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc.

Riggs, George A., Dorothy K. Hall, and Vincent V. Salomonson. January 2003. MODIS Snow Products User Guide for Collection 4 Data Products. .

Riggs, George A., Dorothy K. Hall, and Vincent V. Salomonson. December 2006. MODIS Snow Products User Guide to Collection 5. PDF http://nsidc.org/data/docs/daac/modis_v5/dorothy_snow_doc.pdf. 2.8 MB. Wiscombe, W. J. and S. G. Warren. 1980. A Model for the Spectral Albedo of Snow I: Pure Snow. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 37:2712-2733.

Metadata Name and Version

Metadata Name: CEOS IDN DIF
Metadata Version: 9.7

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2008-03-26

Metadata Views

DIF Text-Only

Directory Interchange Format (DIF) in plain text

DIF XML

Directory Interchange Format (DIF) in Extensible Markup Language (XML)

FGDC HTML

U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM)

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