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Full catalog/VNP15A2H
VNP15A2H·v002·dataset

How dense the leaf cover is (VIIRS, Suomi-NPP, 8-day, 500 m)

VIIRS/NPP Leaf Area Index/FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V002
biosphere NASA LPCLOUD Level 4 active HDF-EOS5
In plain English

What it measures. How dense and leafy the plant canopy is, given as Leaf Area Index (the amount of leaf surface) and the fraction of sunlight the canopy absorbs for photosynthesis, at 500-meter detail every 8 days.

How it's made. Derived from the VIIRS instrument on the NASA/NOAA Suomi-NPP satellite, using an algorithm designed to match the older MODIS approach so the records continue seamlessly.

How & where you'd use it. Useful for monitoring vegetation growth and productivity, modeling carbon and water cycles, and tracking how forests and crops change through the seasons.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATIONBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION › FRACTION OF ABSORBED PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION (FAPAR)BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › LEAF CHARACTERISTICS › LEAF AREA INDEX (LAI)

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • 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 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) (https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/dataset_discovery/viirs) Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) Version 2 data product (VNP15A2H) provides information about the vegetative canopy layer at 500 meter resolution. The VIIRS sensor is located aboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. LAI is an index that quantifies the one-sided leaf area of a canopy, while FPAR is the fraction of incoming solar energy absorbed through photosynthesis at 400 to 700 nanometers. This product is intentionally designed after the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI/FPAR operational algorithm to promote the continuity of the Earth Observation System (EOS) mission. The VNP15A2H product includes six Science Data Set Layers for the analysis of key factors in LAI/FPAR measurements. These include the LAI and FPAR measurements, quality detail for LAI/FPAR, extra quality detail for FPAR, and the standard deviation for LAI and FPAR. Two low resolution browse images are also available for each VNP15A2H granule: LAI and FPAR. Known Issues * 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).

Get the data

vnp15a2h_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP15A2H",
    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.