MI3MLSR_2 is the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Level 3 Component Global Land Regional public Product covering a month version 2. It contains a daily statistical summary of average directional hemispherical reflectance (DHR), DHR for photosynthetically active spectral region (DHR-PAR), fractional absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR), leaf area index (LAI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) model parameters. Data collection for this product was complete in August 2007.
MISR itself is an instrument designed to view Earth with cameras pointed in 9 different directions. As the instrument flies overhead, each piece of Earth's surface below is successively imaged by all 9 cameras, in each of 4 wavelengths (blue, green, red, and near-infrared). The goal of MISR is to improve our understanding of the affects of sunlight on Earth, as well as distinguish different types of clouds, particles and surfaces. Specifically, MISR monitors the monthly, seasonal, and long-term trends in three areas: 1) amount and type of atmospheric particles (aerosols), including those formed by natural sources and by human activities; 2) amounts, types, and heights of clouds, and 3) distribution of land surface cover, including vegetation canopy structure.