VNP43D63: Daily Global Black-Sky Albedo for Visible Band

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS VNP43D63 provides daily black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) for the visible broadband (0.64 μm) at a 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) resolution. The product is generated using 16 days of data, temporally weighted to the ninth day, and is formatted on a global Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). It is part of a larger BRDF/Albedo product suite that includes values for multiple VIIRS spectral bands and the Day/Night Band.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance in climate simulations based on the global Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format.
• Monitoring land surface changes and vegetation dynamics using the visible broadband (0.64 μm) black-sky albedo.
• Assessing surface anisotropy and reflectance properties for the VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) included in the product suite.
• Studying seasonal and interannual albedo trends from a daily, globally continuous data record.

Strengths

• Provides daily, global coverage at a consistent 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) spatial resolution.
• Data processing incorporates a 16-day temporal composite, weighted to improve signal quality for the central (ninth) day.
• Product is part of a calibrated and improved algorithm suite for the entire Suomi NPP mission.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• The dataset contains only one data layer per file, which may require combining multiple files for a complete spectral analysis.
• Documentation for known issues is external, requiring users to visit a separate website for complete information.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Produced from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:58:59.914005

Geography

Global coverage on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG).