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MODIS Snow-Cover ProductsOn December 18, 1999, the Terra satellite was launched with a complement of five instruments including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Many geophysical products are derived from MODIS data including global snow-cover products. MODIS snow and ice products have been available through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) since September 13, 2000. MODIS snow-cover products represent potential improvement to or enhancement of the currently-available operational products mainly because the MODIS products are global and 500-m resolution, and have the capability to separate most snow and clouds. Also the snow-mapping algorithms are automated which means that a consistent data set may be generated for long-term climate studies that require snow-cover information. Extensive quality assurance (QA) information is stored with the products. The MODIS snow product suite begins with a 500-m resolution, 2330-km swath snow-cover map which is then gridded to an integerized sinusoidal grid to produce daily and 8-day composite tile products. The sequence proceeds to a climate-modeling grid (CMG) product at about 5.6-km spatial resolution, with both daily and 8-day composite products. Each pixel of the CMG contains fraction of snow cover from 40 - 100%. Measured errors of commission in the CMG are low, for example, on the continent of Australia in the spring, they vary from 0.02 - 0.10%. Near-term enhancements include daily snow albedo and fractional snow cover. A case study from March 6, 2000, involving MODIS data and field and aircraft measurements, is presented to show some early validation work.
Document ID
20020081113
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Hall, Dorothy K. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Riggs, George A. (Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD United States)
Salomonson, Vincent V. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
DiGirolamo, Nicole E. (Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD United States)
Bayr, Klaus J. (Keene State Coll. NH United States)
Houser, Paul R.
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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