MCD12Q2 - MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Dynamics Yearly L3 Global 500m SIN Grid

Attention: The Dynamics_QC layer of the MCD12Q2 products is not performing as intended. Users are advised to ignore QC information until the issue is resolved.

Collection 005 MODIS Land Cover Dynamics (MCD12Q2) product (informally called the MODIS Global Vegetation Phenology product) provides estimates of the timing of vegetation phenology at global scales. Additionally, it also provides information related to the range and summation of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) computed from MODIS surface reflectance data at each pixel. It identifies the vegetation growth, maturity, and senescence that mark seasonal cycles. In contrast to the Collection 004 incarnation of this product (MOD12Q2), MCD12Q2 uses both Terra and Aqua MODIS input data. MCD12Q2 is produced once a year with 24 months of input data (i.e., the 12 months of interest data bracketed by six month's data on either side). The Collection 005 MCD12Q2 products range from 2001 through 2006.

MCD12Q2 primarily uses MODIS EVI, which is computed from the MODIS Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) product instead of the MOD09 surface reflectance product. In contrast to earlier versions, MCD12Q2 uses NBAR values computed from an 8-day period at 500 m spatial resolution. Huete et al. (2002) provide the formula used to derive the EVI from the NBAR data. The snow and ice flag included in the MODIS NBAR product's QA field is useful to filter out data points associated with snow-covered surfaces from the input time-series, especially because snow presence introduces large temporal variations in EVI that are not associated with vegetation phenology. Land surface temperature data inputs are derived from the MODIS MOD11A2 8-day composite products.