VJ103MOD_NRT: VIIRS Satellite Geolocation at 750m Resolution

750-meter resolution geolocation data is produced for each pixel from the VIIRS instrument aboard the JPSS1/NOAA-20 satellite. The dataset contains geodetic latitude, longitude, surface height above the geoid, solar and sensor zenith/azimuth angles, and a land/water mask, derived using a digital terrain model and spacecraft telemetry. This product serves as a foundational input for generating subsequent VIIRS moderate-resolution land science products.

Use Cases

• Precise georectification of VIIRS M-band imagery based on calculated line-of-sight vectors.
• Atmospheric correction of satellite data using solar and sensor zenith/azimuth angles.
• Land/water masking for environmental monitoring based on the included classification flag.
• Deriving surface elevation context for ecological or hydrological models using the height-above-geoid field.

Strengths

• Provides terrain-corrected geolocation, which is more accurate than simple ellipsoid-based models.
• Contains data for 16 detectors per M-band, suggesting detailed per-detector geometry.
• Serves as a critical input for operational VIIRS land products, indicating established reliability.

Limitations

• Key metadata like row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided on any platform.
• The 'last updated' date of 2026-04-09 appears to be a future date, indicating a potential metadata error.
• Documentation is descriptive but lacks concrete examples or schema definitions for the data files.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Algorithmically derived from spacecraft attitude, orbit ephemeris, instrument telemetry, and a digital elevation model.

Freshness

2026-04-09 (Note: This is a future date and may be a metadata error)

Geography

Global coverage from the VIIRS/JPSS1 satellite swaths.