VNP43D60: Black-Sky Albedo for VIIRS Band M8

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS VNP43D60 provides daily global black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) for the 1.240 μm spectral band (M8). The data is produced using a 16-day temporal composite at a 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) Climate Modeling Grid resolution, weighted to the ninth day. This product is part of a suite of BRDF and albedo measurements designed for climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy budgets based on black-sky albedo values for the near-infrared band.
• Assessing land surface anisotropy and reflectance properties for climate model parameterization.
• Integrating VIIRS-derived albedo into climate simulation models using the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Studying temporal changes in surface reflectance using the daily, 16-day composite product.

Strengths

• Provides a specific, physically-defined measurement (black-sky albedo for band M8 at 1.240 μm).
• Offers global coverage on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) at a consistent 30 arc-second resolution.
• Features a daily production cycle using a 16-day composite to reduce noise, as described in the methodology.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata indicates established use and validation.

Limitations

• Metadata for size, row count, and specific columns is unavailable across all sources.
• The dataset contains only one data layer per file, which may require combining multiple files for a complete spectral analysis.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms provided.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from the Suomi NPP satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:59:21.648831

Geography

Global