VNP43D76: VIIRS Visible Band White-Sky Albedo Daily Global Climate Grid

Daily global white-sky albedo data for the VIIRS visible broadband (0.64 μm) is produced using a 16-day rolling window, temporally weighted to the ninth day. The dataset is part of the VNP43D BRDF/Albedo product suite, providing a single data layer at 30 arc-second (1,000 meter) resolution on a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). It was decommissioned on July 31, 2025, with users directed to Version 2 products.

Use Cases

• Climate simulation modeling based on the global Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) coverage.
• Analyzing surface reflectance anisotropy using the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) methodology.
• Monitoring daily land surface albedo changes in the visible band (0.64 μm).
• Comparing white-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) with black-sky albedo for radiative transfer studies.

Strengths

• Provides global coverage on a Climate Modeling Grid designed for climate simulations.
• Offers daily temporal resolution using a 16-day data composite for stability.
• Includes albedo for the VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB), beyond standard moderate resolution bands.

Limitations

• The Version 1 product is decommissioned, indicating it is not the current operational dataset.
• Known issues include an abnormally high activation of the high aerosol flag.
• Each VNP43D product contains only one data layer due to large file size, limiting multi-band analysis per file.

Provenance

Source

NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)

Collection Method

Produced daily using 16 days of data, temporally weighted to the ninth day.

Freshness

Last updated metadata on 2026-04-09, but the product itself was decommissioned on 2025-07-31.

Geography

Global