The MODIS subsets Web service provides data access capabilities for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 5 subsets through standards based SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Web service. Through the Web service users can obtain data access functions to execute on their local computing resources. The functions available to users are listed in Table 2 below. The MODIS web service is built on ORNL DAAC's MODIS Global subsetting and visualization tool that provides customized subsets and visualization of MODIS land products (Table 1) for any land location on the globe.
With the Web service users can (1) retrieve land product subsets through command line operations, (2) download subsets directly into applications such as Python, Kepler, R, Perl, Matlab, and others, and integrate the subsets into client side workflows, (3) download subsets and write custom code to use the subsets in visualization, (4) download subsets and write custom code for data reformatting, and (5) do much more.
To aid users with setting up the Web service, example clients are provided for the following applications: Java, Perl, Python, Kepler, R, and Matlab.
Please refer to http://daac.ornl.gov/MODIS/MODIS-menu/modis_webservice.html.
Related MODIS Tools:
Companion File:
Citing MODIS Land Products obtained via web service functions:
Citation Format
ORNL DAAC. 2008. MODIS Collection 5 Land Products Web Service. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Accessed Month dd, yyyy. Subset obtained for [Product name] product at [Lat],[Lon], time period: [Start date] to [End date], and subset size: [Width] x [Height] km. http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1252
Citation Example:
ORNL DAAC. 2008. MODIS Collection 5 Land Product Subsets Web Service. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Accessed July 24, 2008. Subset obtained for MOD13Q1 product at 35.9587N, 84.2874W, time period: 2000-02-18 to 2000-04-06, and subset size: 0.25 x 0.25 km. http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1252
When data for many products and sites are used, please cite the MODIS Web Service tool.
Citation Example:
ORNL DAAC. 2008. MODIS Collection 5 Land Product Subsets Web Service. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Accessed July 24, 2008. Products obtained using the MODIS Web Service tool. http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1252
Refer to Data Product Citation Policy for additional information.
The MODIS subsets Web service provides data access capabilities for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 5subsets through standards based SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Web service. Through the Web service users can obtain data access functions to execute on their local computing resources. The functions available to users are listed in Table 2 below. The MODIS Web service is built on ORNL DAAC's MODIS Global subsetting and visualization tool that provides customized subsets and visualization of MODIS land products (Table 1) for any land location on the globe.
With the Web service users can (1) retrieve land product subsets through command line operations, (2) download subsets directly into applications such as Python, Kepler, Matlab, and others, and integrate the subsets into client side workflows, (3) download subsets and write custom code to use the subsets in visualization, (4) download subsets and write custom code for data reformatting, and (5) do much more.
MODIS Products available from the ORNL DAAC:
The data products are from the MODIS instrument flown on both Terra and Aqua satellites. Terra products are available for the years 2000-present, and Aqua products are available from June 2002-present. They are available as 8-day, 16-day, and annual composite periods at 250-m, 500-m, or 1000-m resolution (depending on the product). Products are in sinusoidal projection. The data are provided in comma-separated (*.csv) format.
For additional information regarding the file formats, refer to http://daac.ornl.gov/MODIS/Download_Data_File_Description.html.
Table 1. MODIS Products available from the ORNL DAAC.
| MODIS Product | Description |
|---|---|
| MCD12Q1 | MODIS Land Cover Type product-provides data characterizing five global land cover classification systems. In addition, it provides a land-cover type assessment, and quality-control information. |
| MCD43A4 | MODIS/Terra+Aqua Nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance16-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V005 |
| MOD09A1 | MODIS/Terra Surface Reflectance (SREF) 8-Day L3 Global 500m SIN Grid |
| MOD11A2 | MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/Emissivity (LST) 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid |
| MOD13Q1 | MODIS/Terra Vegetation Indices Vegetation indices; (NDVI/EVI) 16-Day L3 Global 250m SIN Grid |
| MOD15A2 | Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) 8-Day Composite |
| MOD16A2 | MODIS/Terra Evapotranspiration |
| MOD17A2_51 | MODIS/Terra Gross Primary Production (GPP) |
| MOD17A3 | MODIS/Terra Net Primary Production (NPP) |
| MYD09A1 | MODIS/Aqua Surface Reflectance (SREF) |
| MYD11A2 | MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Land surface temperature/Emissivity (LST)8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid |
| MYD13Q1 | MODIS/Aqua Vegetation Indices (NDVI/EVI) 16-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid |
| MYD15A2 | MODIS/Aqua Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) 8 Day Composite |
MODIS subsets provide products to use for validation of models and remote-sensing products and to characterize field sites.
The MODIS Land Science Team maintains a MODIS Land Quality Assessment site, MODIS Land Quality Assessment, referred to as MODLAND, which provides on a routine basis, and formally stored as product metadata and as per-pixel information, the results of the continuous quality assurance. These results are also placed on the Product Quality Web pages associated with the site.
Tools description
The MODIS Web service provides users with subsets of MODIS Land Products through standards based SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Web service. Through the Web service users can access functions to execute on their machine. A list of functions available to users are provided in Table 2.
Table 2. Web Service Functions Available
| Function (Example Request) | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| getproducts() | NONE | This returns the list of products available. Product shortname is used. Example: MOD11A2, MOD13Q1, MOD09A1.. |
| getbands("MOD13Q1") | Product | This returns the list of bands available for a product. Example: 250m_16_days_NDVI,250m_16_days_EVI,.. |
| getdates(40, -110, "MOD13Q1") | Latitude, Longitude, Product | This returns the list of composite dates available for the product, Latitude, Longitude combination. Example: A2000065, A2000081, A2000097, A2000113.... |
| getsubset(40, -110, "MOD13Q1", "250m_16_days_NDVI", "A2000065", "A20000081", 10, 10) | Latitude,Longitude, Product, Band, MODIS Subset Start Date, MODIS Subset End Date, Km Above Below, Km Left Right | This returns the subset in ASCII format for the location, product, band and date combination
with detailed projection and band information. Example: MOD13Q1.A2000065.h09v04.005.2008238050507.250m_16_days_NDVI, MOD13Q1, A2000065, Lat40.0Lon-110.0Samp21Line21, 2008238050507, 1177, 1164, 1116, 1198, 1256, 1226, 1177, 1154, 1267, 1348, 1277, 1345, 1411, 1341, 1278, 1217, 1232, 1244, 1262, ... |
| getsubsetorder(40.1, -110.2, "MOD13Q1", "santhanavans@ornl.gov", "data", "A2000065", "A20000081", 10, 10) Note: This function is in beta | Latitude, Longitude, Product, Email ID, Order ID, MODIS Subset Start Date, MODIS Subset End Date, Km Above Below, Km Left Right | This returns a Unique ID for the subset order. Example: 24May2010_15:54:58_416294117L40.1L-110.2S81L81_MOD13Q1_data |
Subsetting steps
The MODIS Land Products are provided to the ORNL DAAC from the Land Processes DAAC (LP DAAC). When a subset data order is placed, customized HDF tools are used to create subsets of MODIS Land Products. Data are mosaiced as necessary. The "hdp" tool from 'The HDF Group' is used for creating the subsets. The "hdp" tool has been customized to meet the subsetting requirements of ORNL DAAC's subsetting tool.
Web Service Set Up:
The Web Services Description Language (WSDL) document for the MODIS Web service is based on WSDL version 1.1 and can be accessed from http://daac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/MODIS/GLBVIZ_1_Glb_subset/MODIS_webservice.wsdl
To aid users with setting up the Web service, example clients are provided for the following applications: Java, Perl, Python, Kepler, R, and Matlab.
For example clients, please refer to http://daac.ornl.gov/MODIS/MODIS-menu/modis_webservice.html.
These data are available through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).
Contact for Data Center Access Information:
E-mail: uso@daac.ornl.gov
Telephone: +1 (865) 241-3952
S.K. Santhana Vannan, R.B. Cook, J.Y. Pan, B.E. Wilson. A SOAP Web Service for accessing MODIS land product subsets (2011). Earth Science Informatics. DOI:10.1007/s12145-011-0079-2
S.K. Santhana Vannan, R.B. Cook, S.K. Holladay, L.M. Olsen, U. Dadi, B.E. Wilson. A Web-Based Subsetting Service for Regional Scale MODIS Land Products (2010). IEEE JSTARS, 2(4): 319–328