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Full catalog/VJ113C2
VJ113C2·v002·dataset

How green the land is (NOAA-20, monthly, 5 km)

VIIRS/JPSS1 Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V002
biosphere NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS5
In plain English

What it measures. How green and healthy the land's vegetation looks, summarized once a month at about 5 km resolution. It includes several greenness indices that respond to plant cover and chlorophyll.

How it's made. Computed from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite by picking the best cloud-free pixel over each month, following methods designed to continue the long MODIS record.

How & where you'd use it. Tracks growing seasons, droughts, and long-term vegetation trends, and supports comparisons with older satellite greenness records.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION INDEX › NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX (NDVI)BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › PLANT PHENOLOGYBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › VEGETATION INDEX › ENHANCED VEGETATION INDEX (EVI)

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2018-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byNOAA-20 (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS5
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

The NOAA-20 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Vegetation Indices (VJ113C2) Version 2 data product provides vegetation indices by a process of selecting the best available pixel over a monthly acquisition period at 0.05 degree resolution. The VNP13 data products are designed after the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua Vegetation Indices product suite to promote the continuity of the Earth Observation System (EOS) mission. The product consists of eighteen distinct variables in total. The VNP13 algorithm process produces three vegetation indices: The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and the Enhanced Vegetation Index-2 (EVI2). NDVI is one of the longest continual remotely sensed time series observations, using both the red and near-infrared (NIR) bands. EVI is a slightly different vegetation index that is more sensitive to canopy cover, while NDVI is more sensitive to chlorophyll. EVI2 is a reformation of the standard 3-band EVI, using the red band and NIR band. This reformation addresses arising issues when comparing VIIRS EVI to other EVI models that do not include a blue band. EVI2 will eventually become the standard EVI. Along with the three Vegetation Indices variables, this product also includes variables for the standard deviations of each Vegetation Index; NIR reflectance; three shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance; red, blue, and green reflectance; number of pixels, number of pixels used; pixel reliability; average sun angle, and a quality variable. Two low resolution browse images are also available for each VJ113C2 product: EVI and NDVI. Known Issues * Due to missing critical inputs, this product lacks coverage for tiles h33v07 and h18v14, which are located over water. * For complete information about known issues please refer to the [MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/knownissue?sensor=VIIRS) and the User Guide and ATBD.

Get the data

vj113c2_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VJ113C2",
    version="002",
    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 LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.