This data set reports the location of snow cover based on the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and a series of screens designed to alleviate errors and flag uncertain snow cover detections. The NDSI is derived from radiance data acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite.
MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m, Version 6
This is the most recent version of these data.
Changes for Version 6 include:
- Fractional Snow Cover has been replaced by Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) snow cover. Fractional Snow Cover is no longer calculated;
- The binary Snow-Covered Area (SCA) map has been discontinued;
- Data screens designed to reduce snow detection errors have been revised and several new screens have been added;
- Data screen results, including snow detection reversals and detections with increased uncertainty, are provided in a new QA bit flag;
- Basic pixel-level QA uses new criteria to indicate the overall quality of algorithm result.
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As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.
Hall, D. K. and G. A. Riggs. 2016. MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m, Version 6. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD10_L2.006. [Date Accessed].