VNP43MA3N: Daily Global Land Surface Albedo at 1 km

Global land surface albedo data is provided at a 1 km spatial resolution on a daily basis. The dataset contains 36 science data layers, including black-sky and white-sky albedo for nine VIIRS moderate bands and three broadbands. It is generated using a 16-day rolling window of VIIRS observations and the RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal BRDF model to correct for surface anisotropic effects.

Use Cases

• [Modeling surface energy balance] based on [daily black-sky and white-sky albedo values at local solar noon]
• [Monitoring snow and ice melt dynamics] based on [albedo changes in the visible and near-infrared bands]
• [Studying vegetation phenology and land cover change] based on [time-series of broadband albedo]
• [Assessing radiative forcing in climate models] based on [globally consistent, 1 km resolution albedo data]
• [Estimating instantaneous blue-sky albedo] based on [provided BSA and WSA layers with a polynomial method]

Strengths

• Provides a high level of spectral detail with albedo values for nine specific VIIRS moderate bands (M1-M5, M7-M8, M10-M11)
• Offers near-real-time (NRT) daily production, enabling timely analysis of surface changes
• Uses a sophisticated, documented methodology (RTLSR BRDF model) to correct for view-angle geometry
• Has broad spatial coverage with data available for the entire globe

Limitations

• Key metadata such as exact file size, row count, and specific license terms are not consistently provided across platforms
• The 1 km resolution, while global, may be too coarse for detailed local or urban studies
• The product relies on a 16-day composite window, meaning daily values are influenced by observations from the preceding 15 days

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from daily VIIRS/NPP satellite observations processed with the VNP43 algorithm.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:59:50.833672

Geography

Global