About Data
The Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & Distribution System Distributed Active Archive Center (LAADS DAAC) produces, archives, and distributes data products from NASA, NOAA, and ESA missions that fly moderate resolution spectrometers and radiometers aboard Earth observing satellites and airborne platforms.
The LAADS DAAC provides access to multiple levels of data products. It primarily offers Level-1 and atmosphere products, and secondarily provides access to land products.
Level-0 and Level-1 Data Products
| MODIS L1 & L0 | VIIRS L1 & L0 | MERIS L1 | OLCI L1 | SLSTR L1B | MAS L1B | AMS L1B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency or Project | NASA EOS | |||||||
| NASA and NOAA | ||||||||
| ESA | ||||||||
| NASA Airborne | ||||||||
| Platform | Aqua | |||||||
| Terra | ||||||||
| JPSS | ||||||||
| NPP | ||||||||
| Envisat | ||||||||
| Copernicus Sentinel-3 | ||||||||
| Airplane | ||||||||
| Instrument | MODIS | |||||||
| VIIRS | ||||||||
| MERIS | ||||||||
| OLCI | ||||||||
| SLSTR | ||||||||
| MAS/eMAS | ||||||||
| AMS | ||||||||
Level-0 products are reconstructed, unprocessed data at full resolution.
Level-1 products are processed to correct for variations between detectors (Level-1A) and geometry (Level-1B).
Level-0 and level-1 products available from LAADS DAAC come from multiple sources:
- NASA’s Earth Observing System (NASA EOS) and the National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellites (built by NASA and operated by NOAA)
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- NASA Airborne
NASA EOS Terra and Aqua satellites provide Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level-0 and level-1 data (MODIS L0 & L1) data. NASA/ NOAA National Polar Orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite missions include Suomi NPP and the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1 ). These satellites both provide Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (/missions-and-measurements/viirs">VIIRS) level- zero and level-1 data (VIIRS L0&1).
The European Space Agency’s Envisat provides Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) level-1 data (MERIS L1) and Copernicus Sentinel-3’ Ocean and Land Color instrument (OLCI) level-1 (OLCI L1) and Sea and Land Surface Radiometer (SLSTR) level-1 data (SLSTR L1B).
NASA Airborne Missions provide the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS/eMAS) data and Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) data to LAADs DAAC.
At LAADS DAAC level-1 data is processed into higher levels of atmosphere data products, which are archived, and distributed through LAADS DAAC.
Atmosphere Data Products
| Aerosol | Water Vapor | Cloud Properties | Cloud Mask | Atmospheric Profiles | L2 Joint Atmosphere | L3 Atmosphere | VIIRS + CrIS Fusion | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | NASA EOS | ||||||||
| NASA and NOAA | |||||||||
| Platform | Aqua | ||||||||
| Terra | |||||||||
| JPSS | |||||||||
| NPP | |||||||||
| Instrument | MODIS | ||||||||
| VIIRS |
Atmosphere data products are produced from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA EOS’s Terra and Aqua satellites and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP and the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1).
MODIS and VIIRS product suites are produced by processing level-1 data into level-two data products. Level-two data products further refine spatial accuracy by including information derived from geolocated sensor data. Some product suites also include level-3 data, which maps variables onto a uniform space-time grid scale and can take into consideration elevation changes.
The MODIS Atmosphere Processing Flowchart shows how different products within their corresponding product suites are derived.
Land Data Products
| Radiation Budget | Land Cover Characteristics | Ecosystem Variables | LST&E | BRDF, Albedo | MAIAC | PAR | LSR | NTL | TA/Fire | Burned Area | LC & Phenology | VCC | LAI & fPAR | GPP & NPP | ET | VI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | NASA EOS | ||||||||||||||
| NASA and NOAA | |||||||||||||||
| Platform | Aqua | ||||||||||||||
| Terra | |||||||||||||||
| JPSS | |||||||||||||||
| NPP | |||||||||||||||
| Instrument | MODIS | ||||||||||||||
| VIIRS | |||||||||||||||
- LST&E = Land Surface Temperature & Emissivity
- BRDF & Albedo = BRDF, Albedo, & NBAR
- MAIAC = Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction
- PAR = Photosynthetically Active Radiation
- LSR = Land Surface Reflectance
- NTL = Nighttime Lights
- TA/Fire = Thermal Anomalies/ Fire
- LC & Phenology = Land Cover & Phenology
- VCC = Vegetation Continuous Fields
- LAI & fPAR = Leaf-Area Index & Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation
- GPP & NPP = Gross Primary Production & Net Primary Productivity
- ET = Evapotranspiration
- VI = Vegetation Indices
LAADS DAAC serves as a secondary data archive center for land data products. Land data products are produced from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA EOS’s Terra and Aqua satellites and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP and the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1). Land data product suites include data on Earth’s radiation budget, ecosystem variables, and land cover characteristics.
The MODIS Land Processing Flowchart shows how different products within their corresponding product suites are derived.
Last updated: June 7, 2022