VNP43DNBA4: Daily Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance for VIIRS Nighttime Imagery

Global satellite data from the Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band provides Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) at a 1-kilometer resolution. The VNP43DNBA4 product is generated daily using a 16-day temporal window, applying the RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal BRDF model to correct view-angle effects and produce stable surface reflectance. It includes derived albedo layers and quality flags, designed after the MODIS BRDF/Albedo product suite.

Use Cases

• Modeling land surface albedo at any solar angle using the provided BRDF model parameters.
• Analyzing surface anisotropy and reflectance stability for climate and energy balance studies.
• Generating standardized, view-angle corrected base layers for nighttime light time-series analysis.
• Assessing BRDF/Albedo data quality using the mandatory quality assurance layers included in the product.

Strengths

• Provides a stable, view-angle corrected product using a sophisticated semi-empirical kernel-driven BRDF model (RTLSR).
• Offers daily global coverage at a consistent 1-kilometer spatial resolution.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals its importance and reliability within the scientific community.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is medium; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided across sources.
• The product relies on a 16-day composite for daily output, which may smooth over very rapid surface changes.
• License information is inconsistently reported ('other-license-specified' on Data.gov vs. null on NASA EarthData).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Suomi NPP satellite.

Collection Method

Produced daily from 16 days of VIIRS Day/Night Band data, weighted to the ninth day, using the VNP43 algorithm.

Time Range

Daily production, temporal weighting uses a 16-day window.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:13:56.690209

Geography

Global