Abstract:
The MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 8-Day L3 Global 500m Grid (MYD10A2) data set contains data fields for maximum snow cover extent over an eight-day compositing period and a chronology of snow occurrence observations in compressed Hierarchical Data Format-Earth Observing System (HDF-EOS) format, along with corresponding metadata. MOD10A2 consists of 1200 km by 1200 km tiles of 500 m resolution data gridded ... in a sinusoidal map projection. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (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 04 July 2002 to present via FTP. Data can also be obtained in GeoTIFF format by ordering the data through the Data Pool.
Quality
Quality indicators for MODIS snow data can be found in the following 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 Scientific Data Set, for example, Maximum Snow Extent. 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 documents: * MOD10A2 and MYD10A2 Local Snow Cover Attributes, Version 5 * MOD10A2 and MYD10A2 Global Snow Cover 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 are set 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. The algorithm tests for a variety of anomalous conditions and sets the pixel value accordingly if such conditions are detected. Summary statistics about missing data, the percent cloud cover, the percent of good or other quality data, and snow cover percent are calculated and placed in the metadata for each product. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: MODIS Land Quality Assessment Web site provides updated quality information for each product.
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City:
Boulder
Province or State:
CO
Postal Code:
80309-0449
Country:
USA
Publications/References
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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 2006. MODIS Snow Products User Guide for Collection 4 Data Products. United States Geological Survey. 'Sinusoidal Equal Area.' Map Projections. 2003. http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/MapProjections/projections.html#sinus....
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