MCD12Q1 v006

MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 500 m SIN Grid


PI: Damien Sulla-Menashe and Mark Friedl

Documentation

Using the Data

Access Data

Citation

About the Image

Description

The Terra and Aqua combined Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Cover Type (MCD12Q1) Version 6 data product provides global land cover types at yearly intervals (2001-2018), derived from six different classification schemes listed in the User Guide. The MCD12Q1 Version 6 data product is derived using supervised classifications of MODIS Terra and Aqua reflectance data. The supervised classifications then undergo additional post-processing that incorporate prior knowledge and ancillary information to further refine specific classes.

Layers for Land Cover Type 1-5, Land Cover Property 1-3, Land Cover Property Assessment 1-3, Land Cover Quality Control (QC), and a Land Water Mask are provided in each MCD12Q1 Version 6 Hierarchical Data Format 4 (HDF4) file.

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Characteristics

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Version 5 used five classification schemes whereas Version 6 uses six classification schemes, including an entirely new classification scheme based on the Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
  • New gap-filled spectro-temporal features developed by applying smoothing splines to the Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)–Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) time series. This change results in significant changes between land cover classifications in Version 5 and Version 6 data.
  • Algorithm used in Version 6 includes a post-processing Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that reduces spurious year-to-year variation in class labels.
  • Algorithm refinements were implemented in upstream MODIS data used as inputs, such as the cloud mask, surface reflectance, and NBAR data products.
  • The value of "Water" in the IGBP classification scheme has changed from "0" to "17."
  • The data product should not be used to determine post-classification land cover change between years due to the uncertainty in the land cover labels for any one year. More information can be found on page 2 of the User Guide.
  • File size is smaller due to HDF internal compression.

Product Maturity

Validation at stage 2 has been achieved for MODIS land cover products.

Collection and Granule

Collection

Characteristic Description
CollectionCombined MODIS
DOI10.5067/MODIS/MCD12Q1.006
File Size~76.43 MB
Temporal ResolutionYearly
Temporal Extent2001-01-01 to 2019-12-31
Spatial ExtentGlobal
Coordinate SystemSinusoidal
DatumN/A
File FormatHDF-EOS
Geographic Dimensions1200 km x 1200 km

Granule

Characteristic Description
Number of Science Dataset (SDS) Layers13
Columns/Rows2400 x 2400
Pixel Size500 m

Layers

SDS Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value No Data Value Valid Range Scale Factor
LC_Type1 Land Cover Type 1: Annual International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) classification Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 1 to 17 N/A
LC_Type2 Land Cover Type 2: Annual University of Maryland (UMD) classification Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 15 N/A
LC_Type3 Land Cover Type 3: Annual Leaf Area Index (LAI) classification Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 10 N/A
LC_Type4 Land Cover Type 4: Annual BIOME-Biogeochemical Cycles (BGC) classification Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 8 N/A
LC_Type5 Land Cover Type 5: Annual Plant Functional Types classification Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 11 N/A
LC_Prop1 FAO-Land Cover Classification System 1 (LCCS1) land cover layer Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 1 to 43 N/A
LC_Prop2 FAO-LCCS2 land use layer Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 1 to 40 N/A
LC_Prop3 FAO-LCCS3 surface hydrology layer Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 1 to 51 N/A
LC_Prop1_Assessment LCCS1 land cover layer confidence Percent 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 100 N/A
LC_Prop2_Assessment LCCS2 land use layer confidence Percent 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 100 N/A
LC_Prop3_Assessment LCCS3 surface hydrology layer confidence Percent 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 100 N/A
QC Product quality flags Quality Flag 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 10 N/A
LW Binary land (class 2) / water (class 1) mask derived from MOD44W Class 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 1 to 2 N/A

Product Quality

Quality information is provided on page 15 of the User Guide

Known Issues

  • The "units" field is missing in the metadata, however, this information can be found in the table above or on page 5 of the User Guide.
  • Known issues are described on pages 3 and 4 of the User Guide.

Documentation

User Guide
Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD)
File Specification

Using the Data

E-Learning

Working with AppEEARS NetCDF-4 Output Data in Python

TECHTalk: Getting to Know Land Data from NASA’s LP DAAC

Data In Action

Sensing Our Planet: NASA Earth Science Research Features 2017

Highlights from the Literature: October to December 2018

The African Sahel in Transition

The Black Snub-Nosed Monkey: Differentiating and Discovering Suitable Habitat Using MODIS Land Cover Products and ASTER Digital Elevation Models

Access Data

Tool Functionality Description Download Data
AppEEARS Decode Quality, Order, Search, Subset The Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AρρEEARS) offers users a simpl…
Data Pool Direct Download The Data Pool is the publicly available portion of the LP DAAC online holdings. Data Pool provides …
NASA Earthdata Search Browse Image Preview, Direct Download, Order, Search, Subset Earthdata Search combines the latest EOSDIS service offerings with user experience, research, and e…
USGS EarthExplorer Browse Image Preview, Search The EarthExplorer (EE) user interface, developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), pro…
OPeNDAP Direct Download, Subset The LP DAAC OPeNDAP services provide access to a number of data products at the LP DAAC. The Open-s…
Web Map Service (WMS) Web Service The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international consortium dedicated to developing open we…
DAAC2Disk Utility Direct Download The LP DAAC2Disk download manager allows users to simplify the search and HTTPS download process of…
LDOPE Decode Quality The Land Data Operational Products Evaluation (LDOPE) facility, collocated with the MODIS Adaptive …

Citation

DOI: 10.5067/MODIS/MCD12Q1.006

About the Image

Combined MODIS IGBP data from the MCD12C1 product over southwestern Asia, 2016.

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