MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m, Version 4

Data Contributors

HALL, DOROTHY K.
SALOMONSON, VINCE V.

Parameters

LAKE ICE
SNOW COVER > Fractional Snow Cover, Fractional Snow Cover

Instruments

MODIS : MODERATE-RESOLUTION IMAGING SPECTRORADIOMETER
SPECTRORADIOMETERS

MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m (MYD10_L2) contains snow cover and quality assurance (QA) data, latitudes, and longitudes in HDF-EOS format, along with corresponding metadata. Latitude and longitude geolocation fields are at 5 km resolution, while all other fields are at 500 m resolution. Version 4 (V004), the latest version of MODIS data available, has two separate snow cover fields: one incorporating the original cloud mask, and another using a less cloud-conservative mask. MODIS/Aqua V004 data extend from 04 July 2002 to present. MODIS snow cover data are based on a snow mapping algorithm that employs a Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and other criteria tests. The only data available for Version 4 (V004) is the Golden Month, which is a sample of V004 data covering the time period 29 August 2002 (day of year 241) through 7 October 2002 (day of year 280). The Golden Month is only available by special request by contacting NSIDC User Services.

Please note that NSIDC now has a complete series of Version 5 data, which is the highest version number now available and represents the best quality of data.

Data Citation

The following example shows how to cite these data in a publication. List the principal investigators, year of data set release (2003), data set title and version, date of the version you used, publisher (NSIDC), and digital media.

Hall, Dorothy K., George A. Riggs, and Vincent V. Salomonson. 2003, updated daily. MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m V004, December 2003 to March 2004. Boulder, CO, USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.

Sample Image

MYD10_L2 Version 4 data, 15 January 2004