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Full catalog/CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_SNPP
CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_SNPP·v1.1·dataset

Cloud properties like height and thickness (VIIRS, Suomi NPP)

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

What it measures. Cloud characteristics including top height and temperature, thickness, ice-versus-water makeup, droplet size, and cloud fraction, observed day and night.

How it's made. Derived from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite using a MODIS-compatible algorithm, at 750-meter resolution, with a recent fix to a cloud-phase error.

How & where you'd use it. Designed to bridge cloud measurements between the older MODIS and newer VIIRS instruments, supporting consistent long-term cloud and climate research.

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 span2012-03-01 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (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/SNPP Cloud Properties 6-min L2 Swath 750m product is designed to facilitate continuity in cloud properties between the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on the Aqua and Terra platforms and the series of VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instruments, beginning with the Suomi NPP spacecraft. The VIIRS Cloud Properties product consists of cloud optical and physical parameters. These parameters are derived using observations in visible through infrared spectral channels. VIIRS infrared channel radiances are primarily used to derive cloud top temperature, cloud top height, effective emissivity, an infrared cloud phase product (ice vs. water, opaque vs. non-opaque) and cloud fraction under both daytime and nighttime conditions. The VIIRS solar reflectance channels are primarily used to derive cloud optical thickness, particle effective radius, water path, and to inform the phase used in the optical retrievals. The VIIRS Cloud Properties product is a Level-2 product generated at 750 m (at nadir) spatial resolution. The current version-1.1 of the Level-2 CLDPROP product collection is corrected to address an issue with the cloud optical properties’ thermodynamic phase that caused erroneous liquid water cloud phase results.

Get the data

cldprop_l2_viirs_snpp_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CLDPROP_L2_VIIRS_SNPP",
    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.