VNP43D56: VIIRS Black-Sky Albedo for Band M3 Daily Global 1km

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS VNP43D56 provides daily black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) for the M3 band at 0.488 μm. The product is generated using 16 days of data at a 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) resolution, temporally weighted to the ninth day, and formatted on a global Climate Modeling Grid. It is part of a larger BRDF/Albedo product suite designed for use in climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance in climate simulations based on the global Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Analyzing temporal changes in land surface reflectance using the daily product generated from a 16-day composite.
• Studying spectral albedo properties for the visible blue-green spectrum (0.488 μm) provided by VIIRS band M3.
• Integrating black-sky albedo data into land surface models that require directional hemispherical reflectance.

Strengths

• Provides global coverage on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) designed for direct use in climate models.
• Offers daily temporal resolution, synthesized from a 16-day composite to reduce noise.
• Derived from the Suomi NPP VIIRS sensor, with stated improvements in calibration and geolocation accuracy for the entire mission.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided across any source.
• Each product file contains only one data layer due to large file sizes, which may complicate multi-band analysis.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between datagov entries (2026-03-12 and 2026-04-09), casting doubt on metadata freshness.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the Suomi NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), processed using a BRDF/Albedo algorithm.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:59:21.610591

Geography

Global