VNP22C2: Global Land Surface Phenology Metrics from VIIRS

Yearly intervals of global land surface phenology metrics are provided at a 0.05-degree (~5,600 meter) spatial resolution. The dataset contains 19 science layers derived from VIIRS satellite data, including six phenological transition dates, growing season length, and confidence metrics for up to two growing cycles per year. It is designed for comparison with the MCD12C2 product, with known issues documented on a dedicated NASA assessment website.

Use Cases

• Tracking seasonal vegetation changes based on phenological transition dates like onset of greenness increase and decrease.
• Modeling growing season length and productivity using the provided EVI2 growing season and rate of change metrics.
• Assessing data reliability for phenology studies using the included confidence layers, such as proportion of good quality (PGQ).

Strengths

• Contains 19 distinct science dataset layers for detailed phenological analysis.
• Provides global coverage at a consistent 0.05-degree spatial resolution.
• Includes confidence metrics (e.g., PGQ layers) to assess the reliability of phenology detection.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and exact temporal coverage is not provided by any source.
• The dataset's license is listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit details.
• Relies on inferred data types from descriptions; the exact structure of the 19 layers is not enumerated.

Provenance

Source

NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite, processed by LPCLOUD.

Collection Method

Derived from time series of the two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index-2 (EVI2) calculated from VIIRS Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR).

Freshness

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

Geography

Global land surface.