DOI: 10.25592/uhhfdm.18381
title: MODIS Collection 6.1 Sinusoidal Tiles 8-daily LAI and FAPAR

description: <strong>Abstract:</strong> Original LAI and FAPAR data (see https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/mod15a2hv061/) are read together with their bit-encoded quality information from the HDF-files. The quality information is decoded and provided in form of separate flag layers in addition to the LAI and FAPAR data for each tile of the MODIS sinusoidal grid in netCDF file format (see https://www.cen.uni-hamburg.de/en/icdc/data/land/modis-lai-fpar.html). For each tile, latitude and longitude information of the center of each 500 m x 500 m pixel is provided in a separate netCDF file.

<strong>TableOfContents:</strong> FAPAR; LAI; FAPAR retrieval standard deviation; LAI retrieval standard deviation; Detailed quality flag; Quality flag for land; Quality flag for cloud and aerosol; Quality flag for method

<strong>Technical Info:</strong> dimension: 2400 columns x 2400 rows x unlimited; temporalExtent_startDate: 2000-02-18; temporalExtent_endDate: 2025-12-31; temporalResolution: 8-daily; spatialResolution: 500; spatialResolutionUnit: meter; horizontalResolutionXdirection: 500; horizontalResolutionXdirectionUnit: meter; horizontalResolutionYdirection: 500; horizontalResolutionYdirectionUnit: meter; verticalResolution: none; verticalResolutionUnit: none; verticalStart: none; verticalEnd: none; instrumentName: MODerate Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS); instrumentType: visible_to_infrared_spectroradiometer; instrumentLocation: Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) Terra; instrumentProvider: NOAA/NASA

<strong>Methods:</strong> [1] MODIS collection 6.1 (C61) LAI/FPAR Product User Guide, https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/documents/926/MOD15_User_Guide_V61.pdf ; [2] Myneni, R. B., et al., Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD), v4.0, http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/atbd/atbd_mod15.pdf; [3] Yang, et al., From validation to algorithm improvement. Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens., 44, 1885-1898, 2006; [4] Morisette, et al., Validation of global moderate resolution LAI products: A framework proposed within the CEOS Land Product Validation subgroup, Trans. Geosci. Rem. Sens., 44, 1804-1817, 2006; [5] Garrigues, et al., Validation and intercomparison of global Leaf Area Index products derived from remote sensing data, J. Geophys. Res., 113, G02028, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JG000635, 2008; [6] https://www.cen.uni-hamburg.de/en/icdc/data/land/modis-lai-fpar.html

<strong>Units:</strong> Units for all variables (see TableOfContents): percent, m<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>, percent, m<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>, 1, 1, 1, 1

<strong>geoLocations:</strong> westBoundLongitude:depends on tile; eastBoundLongitude: depends on tile; southBoundLatitude: depends on tile; northBoundLatitude: depends on tile; geoLocationPlace: global on land, see: https://modis-land.gsfc.nasa.gov/MODLAND_grid.html

<strong>Size: </strong>(files are packed into one zip-file per year)


 2000: 270 x 40 files, 92.169 Mbyte / file
 2001: 270 x 44 files (20010618 and 20010626 are missing)
 2002: 270 x 35 files (20020101 until 20020322 are missing)
 2003-2025: 270 x 46 files / year
 Latitude/Longitude: 291 files, 46.08 Mbyte / file


<strong>Format:</strong> netCDF

<strong>DataSources:</strong>

Original data on sinusoidal grid tiles in hdf-format: https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD15A2H.061 [last access: 2026-01-12], see also: https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/mod15a2hv061/ [last access: 2026-01-12]

<strong>Contact:</strong> stefan.kern (at) uni-hamburg.de

<strong>Web page:</strong> https://www.cen.uni-hamburg.de/en/icdc/data/land/modis-lai-fpar.html [last access: 2026-02-24]