VNP43D63: VIIRS Visible Broadband Black-Sky Albedo

Daily global albedo data are produced using a 16-day temporal window, weighted to the ninth day, at a 30 arc second (1,000 meter) resolution. The dataset provides black-sky albedo for the VIIRS visible broadband (0.64 μm) and is formatted in a Climate Modeling Grid for global climate simulation models. It is part of a larger albedo product suite that includes values for multiple spectral bands.

Use Cases

• Climate model parameterization based on the Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Analysis of surface reflectance anisotropy using the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) methodology.
• Monitoring land surface albedo changes over time using the daily, temporally-weighted product.
• Comparing albedo values across different spectral bands, including the visible, near-infrared, and shortwave bands.

Strengths

• Provides global coverage at a consistent 30 arc second resolution.
• Offers daily temporal resolution synthesized from a 16-day data window.
• Part of a standardized NASA/NOAA product suite with documented methodology.

Limitations

• The Version 1 product was decommissioned on July 31, 2025, indicating it is not the current version.
• Column names and dataset size metrics are unknown across all sources.
• Each file contains only one data layer due to large file size, which may limit concurrent analysis of multiple parameters.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Data are derived from the Suomi NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellite sensor.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to datagov, but the product itself is a decommissioned version.

Geography

Global