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Full catalog/VNP43D60
VNP43D60·v002·dataset

How much sunlight the surface reflects at noon (Suomi-NPP, daily)

VIIRS/NPP BRDF/Albedo BSA at Solar Noon Band M8 Daily L3 Global 30ArcSec CMG V002
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS5
In plain English

What it measures. Reports daily, for each spot on Earth, how much sunlight the land surface reflects at local solar noon for one specific VIIRS color band, accounting for sun angle (black-sky albedo).

How it's made. A gridded daily product built from 16 days of VIIRS observations on Suomi-NPP, modeling how the surface reflects light from different angles, at about 1 km resolution and packaged one data layer per file.

How & where you'd use it. Reflectivity (albedo) data like this feeds climate simulation models, since how much sunlight the surface bounces back versus absorbs strongly shapes Earth's energy balance.

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 M8 (VNP43D60) 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). VNP43D60 is the BSA for VIIRS band M8 (1.240 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

vnp43d60_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP43D60",
    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.