VNP43MA4: Daily Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance at 1km

Daily global data from 2011 to July 31, 2025, provides nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) at 1-kilometer resolution from the Suomi NPP VIIRS instrument. The product uses a 16-day rolling window of data, weighted to the ninth day, and applies the RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal BRDF model to correct for view-angle effects. It includes 18 science dataset layers for reflectance across nine spectral bands and supports the continuity of NASA's MODIS BRDF/Albedo product suite.

Use Cases

• Monitoring land surface albedo changes for climate modeling based on black-sky and white-sky albedo layers.
• Analyzing surface anisotropy and correcting satellite imagery for view-angle effects using the RTLSR BRDF model.
• Estimating instantaneous blue-sky albedo for energy balance studies using the provided polynomial method with BSA and WSA layers.
• Continuity studies comparing VIIRS surface reflectance products with legacy MODIS data records.

Strengths

• Provides a stable, consistent NBAR product by removing view-angle effects from directional reflectances.
• Designed for continuity with NASA's long-term MODIS BRDF/Albedo data product suite.
• Includes 18 science dataset layers for quality and nadir reflectance across nine VIIRS spectral bands.

Limitations

• This Version 1 product was decommissioned on July 31, 2025; users must migrate to Version 2.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided in the available sources.
• Spatial resolution of 1 kilometer may be too coarse for fine-scale local analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Produced daily from 16 days of VIIRS data on the Suomi NPP satellite, using the RTLSR kernel-driven BRDF model.

Time Range

Coverage spans the Suomi NPP mission (from 2011) until product decommission on July 31, 2025.

Freshness

Last updated metadata on April 9, 2026, but the data product itself is decommissioned.

Geography

Global coverage on a 1km sinusoidal grid.