VCDWDG_L3_NRT: Hourly Global Flood Maps from VIIRS Satellites

Hourly and daily updated global flood maps are generated from surface reflectance data captured by the NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 (JPSS) satellites. The product is processed in near real-time by NASA's LANCE system and provides 250-meter resolution data in a linear latitude-longitude grid, stored in EOS-HDF5 format. This dataset is currently in a Beta 1 status under VIIRS collection 2.

Use Cases

• Disaster response coordination based on hourly updated global flood extent maps.
• Hydrological model validation based on 250-meter resolution surface water observations.
• Climate impact studies on flood frequency using daily composite data from multiple satellites.
• Operational flood forecasting support based on near real-time VIIRS surface reflectance inputs.

Strengths

• Provides hourly temporal resolution for near real-time monitoring.
• Offers global spatial coverage at a 250-meter grid resolution.
• Data is sourced from two operational satellites (NOAA-20 and NOAA-21), increasing observation frequency.
• Processed by NASA's authoritative LANCE system for rapid data delivery.

Limitations

• Dataset is in Beta 1 status, indicating it is not a finalized, operational product.
• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in the available metadata.
• The 'last updated' metadata field shows a future date (2026-04-09), indicating a potential metadata error or placeholder value.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Processed from VIIRS Surface Reflectance (VJ109/VJ209) products from NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 satellites by NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE).

Time Range

Near real-time (hourly and daily updates).

Freshness

2026-04 09 20:46:51.060270 (Note: This is a future date, which may indicate a metadata anomaly.)

Geography

Global