dataset · Global
MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 250m SIN Grid V061
The Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Vegetation Indices (MOD13Q1) Version 6.1 data are generated every 16 days at 250 meter (m) spatial resolution as a Level 3 product. The MOD13Q1 product provides two primary vegetation layers. The first is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which is referred to as the continuity index to the existing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA-AVHRR) derived NDVI. The
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Licence: [Creative Commons BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Evidence quality: 54.6
Listed in aws-odr public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- NDVI (16-day, 250 m) · EVI (16-day, 250 m) · MODIS reflectance bands 1 (red), 2 (NIR), 3 (blue), 7 (MIR) · Two quality layers · Four observation layers
- Coverage docs-verified
- Global · 2000-02-18 to ongoing
- Resolution docs-verified
- 250 m spatial; 16-day temporal composite
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Weekly to less than monthly (registry); product is generated every 16 days
- Formats docs-verified
- HDF
- Access docs-verified
- Controlled access: requires NASA LPDAAC AWS credentials to read S3 bucket lp-prod-protected (us-west-2). Licence: Creative Commons BY 4.0
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Pre-development vegetation greenness baseline for ecological and habitat context · Seasonal NDVI/EVI time series to screen land-cover change across a site or catchment · Vegetation-state inputs for erosion, soil or evapotranspiration screening
- Audience llm-inferred
- ecologists · GIS analysts · hydrologists · environmental consultants
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Requires NASA LPDAAC AWS credentials (controlled-access bucket), so it is not open anonymous download · 16-day composites, not daily; short-term changes may be missed · 250 m resolution is coarse for small sites · Data is in the MODIS sinusoidal (SIN) grid and needs reprojection for most GIS workflows · Known issues are documented separately on the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website
Evidence
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.