In this file, the necessary technical details of the dataset is explained. It is worth noting that, MODIS has many products and here only useful products for the Canadian hydrological community are described.
The MODIS geospatial dataset files are located under the following directory accessible from Digital Alliance (formerly Compute Canada) Graham cluster:
/project/rpp-kshook/Climate_Forcing_Data/geospatial-data/MODIS/ # rpp-kshook allocation
/project/rrg-mclark/data/geospatial-data/MODIS # rrg-mclark allocationAnd the structure of the files is as following:
/project/rpp-kshook/Climate_Forcing_Data/geospatial-data/MODIS/
├── MCD12Q1.006
│ ├── 2001.01.01
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2001001.h00v08.006.2018142182903.hdf
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2001001.h00v08.006.2018142182903.hdf.xml
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2001001.h00v09.006.2018142182901.hdf
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2001001.h00v09.006.2018142182901.hdf.xml
│ │ ├── .
│ │ ├── .
│ │ ├── .
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2001001.h35v10.006.2018142183401.hdf
│ │ └── MCD12Q1.A2001001.h35v10.006.2018142183401.hdf.xml
│ ├── 2002.01.01
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2002001.h00v08.006.2018143043830.hdf
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2002001.h00v08.006.2018143043830.hdf.xml
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2002001.h00v09.006.2018143043923.hdf
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2002001.h00v09.006.2018143043923.hdf.xml
│ │ ├── .
│ │ ├── .
│ │ ├── .
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A2002001.h35v10.006.2018143070809.hdf
│ │ └── MCD12Q1.A2002001.h35v10.006.2018143070809.hdf.xml
│ .
│ .
│ .
│ ├── %YYYY.01.01
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A{%Y}001.h00v08.006.{%HASHNUM}.hdf
│ │ ├── MCD12Q1.A{%Y}001.h00v08.006.{%HASHNUM}.hdf.xml
│ │ .
│ │ .
│ │ .
│ .
│ .
│ .
└── %var
├── .
├── .
├── .
└── .This dataset has 1 main variable that is described in the following table:
| # | Variable Name (keyword for --variable) |
Description | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MCD12Q1.006 |
Global land cover classes | This dataset is retired, though available Link |
| 2 | MCD12Q1.061 |
Global land cover classes | The most up-to-date MODIS Landcover dataset Link |
| 3 | MOD16A2.061 |
Global ET/PET/LE/PLE Land | 8-day time-series of evapotranspiration (ET) and its potential value (PET), Latent Heat flux (LE) and its potential value (PLE) link |
| 4 | MOD16A2GF.061 |
Global gap-filled ET/PET/LE/PLE Land | 8-day time-series of evapotranspiration (ET) and its potential value (PET), Latent Heat flux (LE) and its potential value (PLE) link |
| 5 | MYD16A2.061 |
Global ET/PET/LE/PLE Aqua | 8-day time-series of evapotranspiration (ET) and its potential value (PET), Latent Heat flux (LE) and its potential value (PLE) link |
| 6 | MOD16A3GF.061 |
Global gap-filled ET/PET/LE/PLE Land | Annual time-series of evapotranspiration (ET) and its potential value (PET), Latent Heat flux (LE) and its potential value (PLE) link |
Warning
Currently, gistool only extracts ET values from MOD16A2.061,
MOD16A2GF.061, MYD16A2.061, MOD16A3GF.061 variables. This is a
shortcoming of gistool and will be resolved in the future versions.
| # | Variable Name (keyword for --variable) |
Longitude Extents | Latitude Extents | Temporal Extents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MCD12Q1.006 |
-180° to +180° |
-90° to +90° |
2001-01-01 to 2020-01-01 |
| 2 | MCD12Q1.061 |
-180° to +180° |
-90° to +90° |
2001-01-01 to 2022-01-01 |
| 3 | MOD16A2.061 |
-180° to +180° |
-90° to +90° |
2021-01-01 to 2024-02-10 |
| 4 | MOD16A2GF.061 |
-180° to +180° |
-90° to +90° |
2000-01-01 to 2023-12-27 |
| 5 | MYD16A2.061 |
-180° to +180° |
-90° to +90° |
2021-01-01 to 2024-02-18 |
| 6 | MOD16A3GF.061 |
-180° to +180° |
-90° to +90° |
2000-02-18 to 2023-01-01 |
Note
The spatial resolution of MODIS datasets is 500m globally.
Below the land cover types for each values of the generated
.tif files by gistool is detailed based on 1. These
classes apply to the following variables of the MODIS datasets:
MCD12Q1.006andMCD12Q1.061.
| Class Value | Name | Land Cover Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evergreen Needleleaf Forests | Dominated by evergreen conifer trees (canopy>2m). Tree cover>60%. |
| 2 | Evergreen Broadleaf Forests | Dominated by evergreen broadleaf and palmate trees (canopy >2m). Tree cover >60%. |
| 3 | Deciduous Needleleaf Forests | Dominated by deciduous needleleaf (larch) trees (canopy >2m). Tree cover >60%. |
| 4 | Deciduous Broadleaf Forests | Dominated by deciduous broadleaf trees (canopy >2m). Tree cover >60%. |
| 5 | Mixed Forests | Dominated by neither deciduous nor evergreen (40-60% of each) tree type (canopy >2m). Tree cover >60%. |
| 6 | Closed Shrublands | Dominated by woody perennials (1-2m height) >60% cover. |
| 7 | Open Shrublands | Dominated by woody perennials (1-2m height) 10-60% cover. |
| 8 | Woody Savannas | Tree cover 30-60% (canopy >2m). |
| 9 | Savannas | Tree cover 10-30% (canopy >2m). |
| 10 | Grasslands | Dominated by herbaceous annuals (<2m). |
| 11 | Permanent Wetlands | Permanently inundated lands with 30-60% water cover and >10% vegetated cover. |
| 12 | Croplands | At least 60% of area is cultivated cropland. |
| 13 | Urban and Built-up Lands | At least 30% impervious surface area including building materials, asphalt, and vehicles. |
| 14 | Cropland/Natural Vegetation Mosaics | Mosaics of small-scale cultivation 40-60% with natural tree, shrub, or herbaceous vegetation. |
| 15 | Permanent Snow and Ice | At least 60% of area is covered by snow and ice for at least 10 months of the year. |
| 16 | Barren | At least 60% of area is non-vegetated barren (sand, rock, soil) areas with less than 10% veg- etation. |
| 17 | Water Bodies | At least 60% of area is covered by permanent wa- ter bodies. |
| 255 | Unclassified | Has not received a map label because of missing inputs. |
Also, the details of the above table has been included in the following files: modis_classes.csv.
Based on 2, the ET values calculated from the following variables
of the MODIS dataset come with a scale factor of 0.1. In other words,
final_values = gistool_outputs * 0.1:
MOD16A2.061,MOD16A2GF.061,MYD16A2.061,MOD16A3GF.061,