MODIS MCD43A4 BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR)

MODIS MCD43A4 BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR)

MH Subset Needed

Daily BRDF-corrected surface reflectance at 500m resolution from Terra+Aqua MODIS (7 spectral bands from visible to SWIR). Removes sun-angle and directional effects for consistent multi-temporal analysis. Superior to standard reflectance products for land cover classification and time-series spectral analysis.

Build a consistent vegetation monitoring system for Maharashtra using BRDF-corrected MODIS surface reflectance.
Maharashtra subset not yet extracted. This is a global dataset that contains data covering Maharashtra. A regional subset can be extracted by filtering on geographic coordinates or administrative boundaries.
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Quick Start

import ee
# nbar = ee.ImageCollection('MODIS/061/MCD43A4')
print('MODIS BRDF/NBAR: via Google Earth Engine')
Modality
satellite-imagery
Size
500m resolution; daily; 7 spectral bands; sinusoidal tiles; 2000-present
License
Format
HDF4 / GeoTIFF (via GEE/AWS)
Language
en
Update Frequency
daily
Organization
NASA LP DAAC / USGS
Category
geospatial-gis

Schema

FieldTypeDescription
bandstringMODIS spectral band
nbar_valuefloatNadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance
datedate16-day composite date

Build With This

Create a drought severity mapper using BRDF-corrected vegetation indices for Maharashtra agricultural areas
Develop a phenology tracker detecting crop growth stages across Maharashtra from MODIS NBAR time-series
Build an albedo change detector for Maharashtra's urbanizing areas linking surface changes to heat island effects

AI Use Cases

Consistent land cover classification without directional artifactsBurn scar and fire damage assessment in Western GhatsUrban albedo change monitoringCrop phenology extraction from BRDF-corrected time-seriesWater body turbidity estimation using spectral indices
Last verified: 2026-03-09