MODIS/Aqua Clouds 5-Min L2 Swath 1km and 5km

The MODIS/Aqua Clouds 5-Min L2 Swath 1km and 5km product consists of cloud optical and physical parameters. The cloud optical parameters are generated at 1km and cloud top (physical) parameters are generated at 5km resolution. These parameters are derived using remotely sensed infrared, visible and near infrared solar reflected radiances. MODIS infrared channel radiances are used to derive cloud top temperature, cloud top height, effective emissivity, cloud phase (ice vs. water, opaque vs. non-opaque), and cloud fraction under both daytime and nighttime conditions. MODIS visible radiances are used to derive cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius and cloud shadow effects. Near infrared solar reflected radiance provides additional information in the retrieval of cloud particle phase (ice vs. water, clouds vs. snow).

The shortname for this level-2 MODIS cloud product is MYD06_L2. The MYD06_L2 consists of parameters at a spatial resolution of either 1- km or 5-km (at nadir). Each MYD06_L2 product file covers a five-minute time interval. This means that for 5-km resolution parameters, the output grid is 270 pixels in width by 406 pixels in length.

C6.1 changes for the cloud optical property retrievals are low-impact, and are limited primarily to ancillary product usage, the Quality Assurance (QA), and handling of cloud top (CT) properties fill values; no updates to retrieval science are implemented.

The MODIS Cloud Product is used to investigate seasonal and inter-annual changes in cirrus (semi-transparent) global cloud cover and cloud phase with multispectral observations at high spatial (1 kilometer) resolution.

For more information about the MYD06_L2 product, visit the MODIS-Atmosphere site at:

https://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/products/cloud

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_@id https://data.nasa.gov/data.json
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
citation MODIS Science Team. 2017-10-01. MODIS/Aqua Clouds 5-Min L2 Swath 1km and 5km. Version 6.1. MODAPS at NASA/GSFC. Archived by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Government, L1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS). https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD06_L2.061. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD06_L2.061.
creator MODIS Science Team
identifier C1443536017-LAADS
issued 2017-10-01
landingPage https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD06_L2.061
language {en-US}
metadata_type geospatial
modified 2019-12-27
programCode {026:001}
publisher Not provided
release-place MODAPS at NASA/GSFC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 643999c63d36756c3ded30c21e7549910825ebab
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, -90.0], [180.0, -90.0], [180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, -90.0]]]}
temporal 2002-07-04T00:00:00Z/2020-11-30T00:00:00Z
theme {Aqua,geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • atmosphere
  • atmospheric-radiation
  • ckan
  • clouds
  • earth-science
  • geo
  • geoss
  • national
  • national-geospatial-data-asset
  • ngda
  • north-america
  • united-states
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer ASAD ULLAH
maintainer_email MODAPSUSO@lists.nasa.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-21T20:42:45.227504
metadata_modified 2025-11-21T20:42:45.227508
notes The MODIS/Aqua Clouds 5-Min L2 Swath 1km and 5km product consists of cloud optical and physical parameters. The cloud optical parameters are generated at 1km and cloud top (physical) parameters are generated at 5km resolution. These parameters are derived using remotely sensed infrared, visible and near infrared solar reflected radiances. MODIS infrared channel radiances are used to derive cloud top temperature, cloud top height, effective emissivity, cloud phase (ice vs. water, opaque vs. non-opaque), and cloud fraction under both daytime and nighttime conditions. MODIS visible radiances are used to derive cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius and cloud shadow effects. Near infrared solar reflected radiance provides additional information in the retrieval of cloud particle phase (ice vs. water, clouds vs. snow). The shortname for this level-2 MODIS cloud product is MYD06_L2. The MYD06_L2 consists of parameters at a spatial resolution of either 1- km or 5-km (at nadir). Each MYD06_L2 product file covers a five-minute time interval. This means that for 5-km resolution parameters, the output grid is 270 pixels in width by 406 pixels in length. C6.1 changes for the cloud optical property retrievals are low-impact, and are limited primarily to ancillary product usage, the Quality Assurance (QA), and handling of cloud top (CT) properties fill values; no updates to retrieval science are implemented. The MODIS Cloud Product is used to investigate seasonal and inter-annual changes in cirrus (semi-transparent) global cloud cover and cloud phase with multispectral observations at high spatial (1 kilometer) resolution. For more information about the MYD06_L2 product, visit the MODIS-Atmosphere site at: https://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/products/cloud
num_resources 9
num_tags 14
title MODIS/Aqua Clouds 5-Min L2 Swath 1km and 5km