NOAA-20 VIIRS Monthly Cloud Properties Grid

Monthly 1x1 degree gridded cloud property data from the VIIRS instrument aboard the NOAA-20 satellite. This product is designed to sustain long-term climate records by providing continuity with heritage MODIS and VIIRS datasets using a common algorithm. It is produced and hosted by NASA's LAADS.

Use Cases

• Analyzing monthly global cloud fraction and cloud frequency patterns.
• Investigating relationships between cloud-top temperature and cloud-top height.
• Studying cloud optical properties like emissivity and radiance in visible and infrared wavelengths.
• Validating and calibrating climate models with consistent, long-term satellite observations.

Strengths

• Designed for long-term continuity with MODIS and VIIRS heritage records.
• Provides global coverage on a standardized 1x1 degree monthly grid.
• Algorithm leverages spectral channels common to both MODIS and VIIRS for consistency.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided in the available metadata.
• License is noted as 'other-license-specified' without explicit details.

Provenance

Source

NASA LAADS (Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & Distribution System)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite, processed with a common cloud properties algorithm.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026-03-12 20:16:15.133952

Geography

Global