NOAA-16 AVHRR: Daily Global Top-of-Atmosphere Reflectance at 0.05 Degrees

Daily global satellite measurements from the NOAA-16 AVHRR instrument, processed into a Level 3 Climate Data Record (CDR). The data includes top-of-atmosphere reflectance for two bands, thermal data for three bands, quality flags, and observation angles. It is produced by NASA's Long-Term Data Record (LTDR) project, which bridges data from multiple polar-orbiting satellite missions to study climate change.

Use Cases

• Monitoring global vegetation health based on the derived NDVI and LAI/fPAR products mentioned in the description.
• Studying surface radiative properties and albedo changes based on top-of-atmosphere reflectance data.
• Analyzing long-term climate trends by leveraging the bridge between AVHRR, MODIS, and VIIRS missions.
• Validating atmospheric correction models using the provided solar zenith, view zenith, and relative azimuth angles.

Strengths

• Part of a validated Long-Term Data Record (CDR) critical for studying global climate change.
• Draws from eight AVHRR missions, including NOAA-16, providing a multi-mission time series.
• Includes multiple data layers: reflectance, thermal bands, quality flags, and angles.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Generated from GIMMS Advanced Processing System (GAPS) BRDF-corrected Surface Reflectance product.

Time Range

Daily coverage from the NOAA-16 mission period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:17:58.628750; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage at 0.05-degree resolution.