VJ203MOD: VIIRS/JPSS2 Terrain-Corrected Geolocation Data at 750m Resolution

The VJ203MOD product contains line-of-sight vectors and geodetic coordinates for each pixel from the VIIRS sensor on the JPSS-2/NOAA-21 satellite. It provides geodetic latitude, longitude, surface height, solar and sensor angles, a land/water mask, and a quality flag for every pixel location at a 750-meter resolution. This dataset, produced by NASA, is a fundamental input for generating higher-level VIIRS products and underwent on-orbit validation to correct geolocation errors.

Use Cases

• Generate accurate higher-level satellite data products based on the provided line-of-sight vectors and geodetic coordinates.
• Perform terrain correction and analysis using the surface height above the geoid and land/water mask.
• Calculate solar illumination and sensor viewing geometry for scenes using the solar and sensor zenith/azimuth angles.
• Assess data quality and filter pixels for downstream processing based on the included quality flag.

Strengths

• Provides a fundamental, validated input for generating higher-level VIIRS M-band products.
• On-orbit validation corrected geolocation errors, including reducing Day-Night band error from about 2000 meters.
• Includes multiple geophysical parameters per pixel: coordinates, height, angles, mask, and quality flag.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic or temporal bias inherent to the satellite's polar orbit and coverage.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from satellite ephemeris, attitude data, sensor geometry, and digital terrain models.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 19:59:58.762700; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from the JPSS-2/NOAA-21 satellite's polar orbit.