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Full catalog/VNP43D61
VNP43D61·v002·dataset

How much sunlight the land reflects at noon, shortwave-infrared (Suomi-NPP, daily)

VIIRS/NPP BRDF/Albedo BSA at Solar Noon Band M10 Daily L3 Global 30ArcSec CMG V002
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active HDF-EOS5
In plain English

What it measures. How much sunlight the land reflects at solar noon in one shortwave-infrared band (band M10) — the 'black-sky' albedo, meaning reflectance under direct sun with no diffuse skylight.

How it's made. Produced daily from 16 days of observations by the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite, gridded to roughly 1 kilometer, with each file holding a single data layer.

How & where you'd use it. Feeds climate models that track how much solar energy the land reflects versus absorbs; one band among many in a larger albedo product suite, typically used together rather than alone.

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 M10 (VNP43D61) 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). VNP43D61 is the BSA for VIIRS band M10 (1.61 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

vnp43d61_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP43D61",
    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.