The MCD18A1 Version 6.2
is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Downward Shortwave Radiation (DSR) gridded
Level 3 product produced daily at 1 kilometer pixel resolution with
estimates of DSR every 3 hours. DSR is incident solar radiation over land
surfaces in the shortwave spectrum (300-4,000 nanometers) and is an
important variable in land-surface models that address a variety of
scientific and application issues. The MCD18 products are based on a
prototyping algorithm that uses multi-temporal signatures of MODIS data to
derive surface reflectance and then calculate incident DSR using the look-up
table (LUT) approach. The LUTs consider different types of loadings of
aerosols and clouds at a variety of illumination/viewing geometry. Global
DSR products are generated from MODIS and geostationary satellite data.
Additional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are
available in theAlgorithm Theoretical Basis Document.
Bands
Pixel Size500 meters
Bands
Name
Units
Min
Max
Pixel Size
Description
DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Instantaneous total DSR at MODIS overpass
Direct
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Instantaneous direct DSR at MODIS overpass
Diffuse
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Instantaneous diffuse DSR at MODIS overpass
GMT_0000_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 00:00
GMT_0300_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 03:00
GMT_0600_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 06:00
GMT_0900_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 09:00
GMT_1200_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 12:00
GMT_1500_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 15:00
GMT_1800_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 18:00
GMT_2100_DSR
W/m^2
0
1400
meters
Total DSR at GMT 21:00
DSR_Quality
meters
Quality flag
Bitmask for DSR_Quality
Bits 0-1: Input source of surface reflectance data
0: no valid surface reflectance data
1: from the MCD43 product
2: from the climatology data
Terms of Use
Terms of Use
MODIS data and products acquired through the LP DAAC
have no restrictions on subsequent use, sale, or redistribution.
The MCD18A1 Version 6.2 is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Downward Shortwave Radiation (DSR) gridded Level 3 product produced daily at 1 kilometer pixel resolution with estimates of DSR every 3 hours. DSR is incident solar radiation over land surfaces in the shortwave spectrum (300-4,000 …
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[],[],null,["Dataset Availability\n: 2000-03-03T00:00:00Z--2025-08-01T00:00:00Z\n\nDataset Provider\n:\n\n\n [NASA LP DAAC at the USGS EROS Center](https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/mcd18a1v062/)\n\nCadence\n: 1 Day\n\nTags\n:\n[climate](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/climate) [par](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/par) [radiation](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/radiation) \n\nDescription \nThe MCD18A1 Version 6.2\nis a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer\n(MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Downward Shortwave Radiation (DSR) gridded\nLevel 3 product produced daily at 1 kilometer pixel resolution with\nestimates of DSR every 3 hours. DSR is incident solar radiation over land\nsurfaces in the shortwave spectrum (300-4,000 nanometers) and is an\nimportant variable in land-surface models that address a variety of\nscientific and application issues. The MCD18 products are based on a\nprototyping algorithm that uses multi-temporal signatures of MODIS data to\nderive surface reflectance and then calculate incident DSR using the look-up\ntable (LUT) approach. The LUTs consider different types of loadings of\naerosols and clouds at a variety of illumination/viewing geometry. Global\nDSR products are generated from MODIS and geostationary satellite data.\nAdditional details regarding the methodology used to create the data are\navailable in the\n[Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document](https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/documents/106/MCD18_ATBD.pdf).\n\nBands\n\n\n**Pixel Size**\n\n500 meters\n\n**Bands**\n\n| Name | Units | Min | Max | Pixel Size | Description |\n|----------------|--------|-----|------|------------|---------------------------------------------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| `DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Instantaneous total DSR at MODIS overpass |\n| `Direct` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Instantaneous direct DSR at MODIS overpass |\n| `Diffuse` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Instantaneous diffuse DSR at MODIS overpass |\n| `GMT_0000_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 00:00 |\n| `GMT_0300_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 03:00 |\n| `GMT_0600_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 06:00 |\n| `GMT_0900_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 09:00 |\n| `GMT_1200_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 12:00 |\n| `GMT_1500_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 15:00 |\n| `GMT_1800_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 18:00 |\n| `GMT_2100_DSR` | W/m\\^2 | 0 | 1400 | meters | Total DSR at GMT 21:00 |\n| `DSR_Quality` | | | | meters | Quality flag |\n| Bitmask for DSR_Quality - Bits 0-1: Input source of surface reflectance data - 0: no valid surface reflectance data - 1: from the MCD43 product - 2: from the climatology data ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\n\nTerms of Use\n\n**Terms of Use**\n\nMODIS data and products acquired through the LP DAAC\nhave no restrictions on subsequent use, sale, or redistribution.\n\nCitations \nCitations:\n\n- Please visit [LP DAAC 'Citing Our Data' page](https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/citing_our_data)\n for information on citing LP DAAC datasets.\n\nDOIs\n\n- \u003chttps://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD18A1.062\u003e\n\nExplore with Earth Engine **Important:** Earth Engine is a platform for petabyte-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets, both for public benefit and for business and government users. Earth Engine is free to use for research, education, and nonprofit use. To get started, please [register for Earth Engine access.](https://console.cloud.google.com/earth-engine)\n\nCode Editor (JavaScript) \n\n```javascript\nvar dataset = ee.ImageCollection('MODIS/062/MCD18A1')\n .filter(ee.Filter.date('2000-01-01', '2001-01-01'));\nvar gmt_1200_dsr = dataset.select('GMT_1200_DSR');\nvar gmt_1200_dsr_vis = {\n min: 0,\n max: 350,\n palette: ['0f17ff', 'b11406', 'f1ff23'],\n};\nMap.setCenter(6.746, 46.529, 2);\nMap.addLayer(\n gmt_1200_dsr, gmt_1200_dsr_vis,\n 'Total dsr at GMT 12:00');\n```\n[Open in Code Editor](https://code.earthengine.google.com/?scriptPath=Examples:Datasets/MODIS/MODIS_062_MCD18A1) \n[MCD18A1.062 Surface Radiation Daily/3-Hour](/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/MODIS_062_MCD18A1) \nThe MCD18A1 Version 6.2 is a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua combined Downward Shortwave Radiation (DSR) gridded Level 3 product produced daily at 1 kilometer pixel resolution with estimates of DSR every 3 hours. DSR is incident solar radiation over land surfaces in the shortwave spectrum (300-4,000 ... \nMODIS/062/MCD18A1, climate,par,radiation \n2000-03-03T00:00:00Z/2025-08-01T00:00:00Z \n-90 -180 90 180 \nGoogle Earth Engine \nhttps://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets\n\n- [https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD18A1.062](https://doi.org/https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/mcd18a1v062/)\n- [https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD18A1.062](https://doi.org/https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/MODIS_062_MCD18A1)"]]
