VNP16A2: Global 8-Day Evapotranspiration from VIIRS/NPP

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS Actual and Potential Evapotranspiration (VNP16A2) is an 8-day composite dataset at 500-meter resolution. The algorithm uses the Penman-Monteith equation, integrating daily meteorological reanalysis with VIIRS-derived vegetation and albedo data. It provides layers for actual and potential evapotranspiration (ET, PET) and latent heat flux (LE, PLE), along with a quality control variable.

Use Cases

• Monitoring agricultural water use based on 8-day total evapotranspiration (ET) layers.
• Modeling surface energy balance using average daily latent heat flux (LE) values.
• Assessing drought conditions by comparing actual (ET) and potential (PET) evapotranspiration.
• Validating land surface models with spatially continuous, satellite-derived hydrological variables.

Strengths

• Provides a high-resolution (500m) global product derived from satellite observations.
• Includes both actual and potential evapotranspiration, enabling comparative water stress analysis.
• Based on the physically-based Penman-Monteith equation, integrating multiple remote sensing inputs.

Limitations

• Metadata for row count, size, and specific columns is missing or conflicting across platforms.
• The last composite period of each year is only 5-6 days, introducing temporal inconsistency.
• Known data issues exist, requiring users to consult external quality assessment websites.

Provenance

Source

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite, processed by LPCLOUD.

Collection Method

Algorithmically derived using the Penman-Monteith equation on VIIRS remote sensing data and meteorological reanalysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-09 20:45:20.035927 (from nasa_earthdata and datagov).

Geography

Global coverage.