MODIS/Terra Near Real Time (NRT) Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m, Version 6

MODIS/Terra Near Real Time (NRT) Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m (MOD10_L2) contains snow cover and quality assurance (QA) data, latitudes, and longitudes in HDF-EOS format, along with corresponding metadata. Latitude and longitude geolocation fields are at 5 km resolution, while all other fields are at 500 m resolution. Version 5 (V005) has two separate snow cover fields: one incorporating the original cloud mask, and another using a less cloud-conservative mask. MODIS/Terra V005 data extend from 24 February 2000 to present. MODIS snow cover data are based on a snow mapping algorithm that employs a Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and other criteria tests. The only data available for Version 5 (V005) is the Golden Month, which is a sample of V004 data covering the time period 29 August 2002 (day of year 241) through 7 October 2002 (day of year 280). The Golden Month is only available by special request by contacting NSIDC User Services. Please note that NSIDC now has a complete series of Version 5 data, which is the highest version number now available and represents the best quality of data.