VIIRS Vegetation Indices: Monthly Global 1km Grid

Global satellite data provides monthly vegetation indices at a 1-kilometer resolution. The dataset includes three primary indices—Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index-2 (EVI2)—alongside reflectance bands and quality assurance layers. It is produced from NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 satellite sensors to ensure continuity of long-term Earth observation.

Use Cases

• Monitoring agricultural productivity based on NDVI and EVI time series.
• Assessing global forest canopy cover changes using the EVI layer.
• Studying long-term vegetation trends and phenology from a continuous satellite record.
• Validating ecosystem models with reflectance data from red, NIR, and SWIR bands.
• Identifying areas of vegetation stress or change using the pixel reliability and quality layers.

Strengths

• Provides three distinct vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, EVI2) for comparative analysis.
• Designed for continuity with the long-running MODIS mission, supporting long-term time-series studies.
• Includes multiple ancillary data layers such as reflectance bands and viewing angles.

Limitations

• Missing coverage for specific tiles (h33v07 and h18v14) over water due to critical input gaps.
• Key metadata such as exact row count, file size, and author are not provided across sources.
• Platforms show conflicting or incomplete information on license and update details.

Provenance

Source

LPCLOUD (as listed on nasa_earthdata).

Collection Method

Derived from NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 VIIRS sensor data using a pixel compositing algorithm.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to nasa_earthdata and datagov.

Geography

Global coverage at 1km resolution, excluding specific missing tiles.