All MODIS land products include quality assurance (QA) information designed to help users understand and make best use of the data that comprise each product. Following a decade of MODIS land data product use in various applications, evidence indicates that QA information is not always used properly. LP DAAC is developing a comprehensive tutorial addressing the use of QA information in particular MODIS land products. Meanwhile, this message is intended to reinforce the importance of consulting each product’s QA information, generally provided as a separate Science Data Set (SDS) layer, when using the product in research and applications.
The Land Data Operational Product Evaluation (LDOPE) entity, collocated with the MODIS Adaptive Processing System (MODAPS) at Goddard Spaceflight Center, is responsible for the evaluation and documentation of the science quality of the MODIS land products. Users are encouraged to consult the MODIS Land Quality Assessment site (http://landweb.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/QA_WWW/newPage.cgi) for product-specific information for different product suites. Please revisit this site in a few weeks time for a comprehensive MODIS land QA tutorial.