MODIS at the University of Maryland

As a member of the MODIS Land Science Team, the University of Maryland is contracted by NASA to develop Enhanced Land Cover and Land Cover Change Products from MODIS. In this effort we are focusing on the 250m data (Red & Near IR) and 500m data (Mid IR). This work is being conducted by researchers affiliated with the Department of Geography under the direction of Dr. John Townshend. UMD is producing a suite of level 3 products using MODIS data. These products are stored and distributed by the Global Land Cover Facility.

• 16 day Vegetation Index
  Maximum NDVI composites for the conterminous United States with subsets by region and for regions outside the US.
• Vegetative Cover Conversion
  Global alarm product detecting cover change at 250m resolution. Runs monthly with results from previous three months and oneyear.
• Vegetation Continuous Fields
  Portrays vegetative and tree cover at the sub-pixel level. Accurately describes mixtures and gradients. Produced at 500m resolution.
• MODIS Composites

For more information on the algorithms and the theoretical basis for this work please refer to the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Documents.