MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid, Version 61 (MOD10A2)
Data set:
MOD10A2
This is the most recent version of these data.
Version Summary
Version Summary
1. The low visible reflectance screen for snow cover using bands 2 and 4 was lowered from 0.10 to 0.07.
2. Cloud mask algorithm flags are set for 'probably cloudy' and 'probably clear' sky conditions in the algorithm flags QA data set.
2. Cloud mask algorithm flags are set for 'probably cloudy' and 'probably clear' sky conditions in the algorithm flags QA data set.
Overview
This global Level-3 (L3) data set provides the maximum snow cover extent observed over an eight-day period within 10° x 10° MODIS sinusoidal grid tiles. Tiles are generated by compositing 500 m observations from the 'MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 500m Grid' data set (DOI:10.5067/MODIS/MOD10A1.061). A bit flag index is used to track the eight-day snow/no-snow chronology for each 500 m cell.
The terms "Version 61" and "Collection 6.1" are used interchangeably in reference to this release of MODIS data.
Data Contributor(s):
Hall, D. K. and G. A. Riggs.
Parameter(s):
SNOW COVER
Platform(s):
Terra
Sensor(s):
MODIS
Data Format(s):
HDF-EOS2
Temporal Coverage:
18 February 2000 to present
Temporal Resolution:
8 day
Spatial Resolution:
500 m
500 m
Spatial Coverage:
N:
90
S:
-90
E:
180
W:
-180
Data Access & Tools
A free NASA Earthdata Login account is required to access these data. Learn More
Documentation
User Guide
General Resources
Product Specification Documents
Help Articles
Getting started
For the snow cover and sea ice products, users can use MODIS Collections 6 and 6.1 together.
The lag time between observations and availability of MODIS products is only a few days. Lag time may be extended due to satellite maneuvers and extra quality assurance required for the geolocation data after the maneuver.
The following table describes the data subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection services that are currently available for MODIS data via the NASA Earthdata Search tool.
The Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) snow cover is an index that is related to the presence of snow in a pixel and is a more accurate description of snow detection as compared to Fractional Snow Cover (FSC). Snow typically has very high visible (VIS) reflectance and very low reflectance in
How To
Many NSIDC data set web pages provide the ability to search and filter data with spatial and temporal contstraints using a map-based interface. This article outlines how to order NSIDC DAAC data using advanced searching and filtering.
To convert HDF5 files into binary format you will need to use the h5dump utility, which is part of the HDF5 distribution available from the HDF Group. How you install HDF5 depends on your operating system.
Data subscriptions are available for select NSIDC DAAC data collections (found below). Our subscription service automatically sends you new data as they are delivered from active NASA satellite missions.
Data from the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) can be accessed directly from our HTTPS file system or through our Application Programming Interface (API).
NASA Earthdata Search is a map-based interface where a user can search for Earth science data, filter results based on spatial and temporal constraints, and order data with customizations including re-formatting, re-projecting, and spatial and parameter subsetting.
NASA Worldview uses the Global Imagery Browse Service (GIBS) to provide up to date, full resolution imagery for select NSIDC DAAC data sets (see attachments below).
NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) provides up to date, full resolution imagery for selected NSIDC DAAC data sets.