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Full catalog/N11_AVH13C1
N11_AVH13C1·v6·dataset

How green and healthy plants are, NDVI (NOAA-11, daily)

NOAA-11 AVHRR Atmospherically Corrected Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Daily L3 Global 0.05 Deg. CMG
land NASA LAADS Level 3 HDF-EOS
In plain English

What it measures. A daily 'greenness' map showing how lush and healthy plants are across the globe, using the well-known NDVI index where higher numbers mean more vigorous vegetation.

How it's made. Derived from the AVHRR sensor aboard the older NOAA-11 weather satellite, then cleaned up to remove haze and stitched into a steady long-term record meant to bridge decades of satellites.

How & where you'd use it. Helps researchers study long-term climate change, droughts, and shifts in vegetation by comparing today's plant health against decades of past observations.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › LAND USE/LAND COVER › LAND USE/LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION › VEGETATION INDEX › NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX (NDVI)BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION INDEX › NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX (NDVI)BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION INDEX

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1988-11-08 → 1995-01-01
  • Measured byNOAA-11 (AVHRR)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The Long-Term Data Record (LTDR) produces, validates, and distributes a global land surface climate data record (CDR) that uses both mature and well-tested algorithms in concert with the best-available polar-orbiting satellite data from past to the present. The CDR is critically important to studying global climate change. The LTDR project is unique in that it serves as a bridge that connects data derived from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), the EOS Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), and Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) VIIRS missions. The LTDR draws from the following eight AVHRR missions: NOAA-7, NOAA-9, NOAA-11, NOAA-14, NOAA-16, NOAA-18, NOAA-19, and MetOp-B. Currently, the project generates a daily surface reflectance product as the fundamental climate data record (FCDR) and derives daily Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Leaf-Area Index/fraction of absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (LAI/fPAR) as two thematic CDRs (TCDR). LAI/fPAR was developed as an experimental product. The NOAA-11 AVHRR Atmospherically Corrected Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Daily L3 Global 0.05 Deg CMG, short-name N11_AVH13C1 is generated from GIMMS Advanced Processing System (GAPS) BRDF-corrected Surface Reflectance product (N11_AVH01C1). The N11_AVH13C1 product is available in HDF4 file format.

Get the data

n11_avh13c1_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="N11_AVH13C1",
    version="6",
    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.