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Full catalog/CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_NOAA20
CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_NOAA20·v1.1·dataset

Cloud properties like height and thickness (VIIRS, NOAA-20)

VIIRS/NOAA20 Cloud Properties 6-min L2 Swath 750m
atmosphere NASA LAADS Level 2 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Properties of clouds such as their top height and temperature, thickness, whether they're made of ice or water, droplet size, and how much of the sky they cover.

How it's made. Derived from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite using an algorithm shared with MODIS, producing swath data at 750-meter resolution.

How & where you'd use it. Built to keep cloud records consistent across the MODIS and VIIRS satellites, helping scientists study clouds and weather over the long term.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › CLOUDSATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FREQUENCYATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD HEIGHTSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › INFRARED RADIANCESPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › REFLECTED INFRAREDSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS › VISIBLE RADIANCEATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIESATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD FRACTIONATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP HEIGHTATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD PROPERTIES › CLOUD TOP TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › CLOUDS › CLOUD RADIATIVE TRANSFER › CLOUD EMISSIVITY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2018-02-17 → ongoing
  • Measured byNOAA-20 (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

The VIIRS/NOAA20 Cloud Properties 6-min L2 Swath 750m product is a continuity product similar to its counterpart product from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) VIIRS. Judiciously leveraging a common set of spectral channels, they help sustain the long-term records of both MODIS and VIIRS heritages. A commonly applicable algorithm to both MODIS and VIIRS inputs is the hallmark of this continuity approach. CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_NOAA20 is the shortname for the NOAA20 VIIRS incarnation of the orbital swath-based Cloud Properties continuity product. For more information, visit product page at: https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/products/CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_NOAA20

Get the data

cldprop_l2_viirs_noaa20_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_NOAA20",
    version="1.1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LAADS
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.