VNP43C1: VIIRS Daily BRDF Model Parameters for Global Climate Models

NASA/NOAA's Suomi NPP VIIRS BRDF/Albedo Model Parameters (VNP43C1) product provides daily global data at a 0.05-degree resolution for climate simulation models. It contains 39 layers, including the three RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal BRDF model parameters (fiso, fvol, fgeo) for 13 spectral bands and five ancillary layers for quality assessment. The data is generated daily using a 16-day moving window of reflectance observations to characterize surface anisotropy.

Use Cases

• Producing albedo maps (VNP43C3) using the supplied BRDF model weighting parameters.
• Generating Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) products (VNP43C4) for surface change detection.
• Assessing surface anisotropy for specific VIIRS bands, including the Day/Night Band (DNB) and moderate resolution bands.
• Evaluating data quality for climate studies using the ancillary uncertainty, quality, and snow cover layers.
• Inputting surface radiative properties into global or regional climate simulation models.

Strengths

• Provides foundational parameters for two downstream NASA products (VNP43C3 Albedo and VNP43C4 NBAR).
• Contains 39 data layers, offering parameters for 13 spectral bands plus ancillary information.
• Has a global spatial coverage at a consistent 0.05-degree (approx. 5.6 km) Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) resolution.
• Is generated daily with a 16-day retrieval window, providing a temporally smoothed product.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all platform entries.
• The license is listed only as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.
• Documentation references known issues but does not describe them in the provided excerpts.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from the higher-resolution VNP43D Version 2 product suite using a temporal fitting algorithm on VIIRS reflectance data.

Time Range

Daily generation, emphasizing a central day within a 16-day moving window.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:56:46.702480

Geography

Global