VNP43D66: Black-Sky Albedo for the VIIRS Day/Night Band

Daily global data from the Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument provides black-sky albedo for the Day/Night Band at 0.7 μm. Each daily product is generated using a 16-day rolling window of observations, temporally weighted to the ninth day, and is projected on a 30 arc-second (approximately 1 km) Climate Modeling Grid covering the entire globe. This dataset is part of a larger BRDF/Albedo product suite (VNP43D) designed for climate simulation models.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy balance in climate simulations based on the black-sky albedo parameter.
• Analyzing temporal changes in Earth's surface reflectance using the daily, 16-day composite data.
• Studying low-light or nighttime surface properties leveraging the specific Day/Night Band (DNB) measurement.
• Incorporating global, 1-km resolution albedo data into geospatial analyses for the Climate Modeling Grid.

Strengths

• Provides a specific geophysical parameter (black-sky albedo) for a unique sensor band (VIIRS DNB) not in the standard moderate band set.
• Offers daily, global coverage at a consistent 1-km spatial resolution on a Climate Modeling Grid.
• Dataset is part of a well-documented NASA/NOAA operational product suite with an Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document.

Limitations

• The dataset (Version 1) was officially decommissioned on July 31, 2025, directing users to newer versions.
• Metadata for row count, file size, and specific columns is unavailable ('unknown' or 'None') across all sources.
• Each file contains only one data layer due to large file sizes, which may complicate multi-band analysis.

Provenance

Source

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing, processed using a Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Albedo model.

Time Range

Daily production, using a 16-day data window.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:44:06.605120

Geography

Global coverage.