VNP16A2GF: Gap-Filled 8-Day Global Evapotranspiration at 500m

An 8-day composite dataset from 2012 onward provides gap-filled estimates of actual and potential evapotranspiration (ET) and latent heat flux (LE) at a 500-meter pixel resolution. The product, VNP16A2GF, is generated annually using the Penman-Monteith equation, which integrates VIIRS vegetation data and meteorological reanalysis. It includes five core variables: ET, PET, LE, PLE, and a quality control layer, with pixel values representing 8-day water loss summation or daily average energy.

Use Cases

• Monitoring agricultural water use and drought stress based on 8-day actual evapotranspiration (ET) layers.
• Calibrating hydrological models using gap-filled potential evapotranspiration (PET) data derived from the Penman-Monteith equation.
• Analyzing surface energy balance and climate interactions using the latent heat flux (LE) and potential latent heat (PLE) variables.
• Assessing long-term vegetation and water cycle dynamics with the annual, quality-controlled composite product.

Strengths

• Provides gap-filled data, with poor-quality inputs cleaned via linear interpolation based on pixel-level QC labels.
• Offers a high spatial resolution of 500 meters for detailed land surface analysis.
• Algorithm is based on the physically-based Penman-Monteith equation, integrating both satellite and reanalysis data.

Limitations

• Not available in near-real-time; the gap-filled product is generated only at the end of each calendar year.
• Metadata for specific column names, row counts, and dataset size is unavailable across all sources.
• The last composite period of each year is only 5 or 6 days, not a full 8-day period.

Provenance

Source

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS sensor, processed by LPCLOUD.

Collection Method

Remote sensing data processed using the Penman-Monteith algorithm with inputs from VIIRS vegetation products and meteorological reanalysis.

Time Range

2012 onward (inferred from Suomi NPP launch and operational timeline).

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:59:42.108962

Geography

Global