VNP43D65: Black-Sky Albedo for Shortwave from VIIRS/NPP

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS VNP43D65 provides daily black-sky albedo for the shortwave broadband (1.61 μm) at a 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) resolution. The data are generated using a 16-day temporal composite, weighted to the ninth day, and are formatted on a global Climate Modeling Grid. This product is part of a suite that includes albedo values for multiple spectral bands and the Day/Night Band, supporting surface energy balance studies.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy budgets based on shortwave broadband albedo.
• Analyzing land surface changes over time using the 16-day composite temporal weighting.
• Integrating albedo data into climate simulation models via the global Climate Modeling Grid format.
• Comparing black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) with other surface reflectance products.

Strengths

• Provides daily, global coverage at a consistent 1,000-meter spatial resolution.
• Uses a 16-day composite to improve data quality, with temporal weighting to a central date.
• Part of a cross-platform product suite (VNP43D) maintained by NASA/NOAA, indicating established processing and validation.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided in any source.
• Each product file contains only one data layer due to large file sizes, which may complicate multi-band analysis.
• Known issues exist and require external consultation of the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data processed through the VNP43D BRDF/Albedo algorithm.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-09 according to nasa_earthdata and datagov.

Geography

Global coverage on a Climate Modeling Grid.