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Full catalog/VNP43D56
VNP43D56·v002·dataset

How much sunlight the land reflects at noon, blue band (Suomi-NPP, daily)

VIIRS/NPP BRDF/Albedo BSA at Solar Noon Band M3 Daily L3 Global 30ArcSec CMG V002
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS5
In plain English

What it measures. How brightly land reflects sunlight in one specific blue color band (Band M3) at solar noon, with the diffuse sky-glow component removed. In short, a daily snapshot of the land's reflectivity in that color.

How it's made. Produced from the VIIRS sensor on the Suomi-NPP satellite, combining 16 days of observations into a daily global grid at about 1 km resolution, packaged for use in climate models.

How & where you'd use it. A building-block input for climate and energy-balance models rather than something most people view directly; specialists combine the bands to study how surfaces reflect sunlight.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ALBEDOLAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › ANISOTROPYLAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIES › REFLECTANCE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-01-19 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS5
  • 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 NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Albedo Black-Sky Albedo for Band M3 (VNP43D56) is produced daily using 16 days of data at 30 arc second (1,000 meter) resolution. Data are temporally weighted to the ninth day, which is reflected in the file name. The VNP43D product suite is provided in a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG), which covers the entire globe for use in climate simulation models. Due to the large file size, each VNP43D product contains just one data layer. VNP43D54 through VNP43D79 are the albedo products of the VNP43D BRDF/Albedo product suite. Black-sky albedo (BSA) and white-sky albedo (WSA) values are provided for the nine VIIRS moderate resolution bands (M1 through M5, M7, M8, M10, and M11) along with the visible, near-infrared (NIR), and shortwave bands included in the [VNP43MA3](https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VNP43MA3.002) product. In addition to the bands included in VNP43MA3, this product suite includes albedo values for the VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB). The black-sky albedo (directional hemispherical reflectance) is defined as albedo in the absence of a diffuse component and is a function of solar zenith angle. White-sky albedo (bihemispherical reflectance) is defined as albedo in the absence of a direct component when the diffuse component is isotropic. Details regarding methodology are available on the [VNP43MA3](https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VNP43MA3.002) product page and in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD). VNP43D56 is the BSA for VIIRS band M3 (0.488 μm). 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).

Get the data

vnp43d56_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP43D56",
    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.