VNP43IA4N: Daily Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance at 500m

Daily global surface reflectance data at 500-meter resolution, produced using a 16-day rolling window of VIIRS/NPP observations. The dataset applies the RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal BRDF model to correct view-angle effects, providing Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance for imagery bands I1, I2, and I3. It includes six science data layers for reflectance, albedo, and mandatory quality flags.

Use Cases

• Monitoring land surface change based on corrected nadir reflectance values.
• Modeling surface energy balance using derived black-sky and white-sky albedo layers.
• Analyzing vegetation trends from stable, view-angle normalized reflectance in the imagery bands.
• Studying surface anisotropy and bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) parameters.

Strengths

• Provides daily, near-real-time (NRT) global coverage at a consistent 500-meter spatial resolution.
• Applies a standardized, documented BRDF correction (RTLSR model) to remove view-angle artifacts, enhancing comparability.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata signals its importance and official provenance.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is medium; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided.
• The dataset's temporal depth is constrained by its reliance on a rolling 16-day window for daily product generation.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Processed from VIIRS/NPP satellite sensor data using the VNP43 algorithm.

Time Range

Daily production with a 16-day data window; specific start date not provided.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to Data.gov metadata.

Geography

Global coverage on a sinusoidal (SIN) grid.