How cleanly fires are burning (VIIRS Suomi-NPP, 750 m)

In plain English

What it measures. Assesses how cleanly fires are burning by measuring their modified combustion efficiency, along with fire radiative power and how much visible light each fire gives off.

How it's made. Generated from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite using a nighttime fire-detection algorithm, in 6-minute swath segments at 750-meter resolution.

How & where you'd use it. Helps detect smaller and cooler fires and characterize how completely they burn, supporting wildfire monitoring and emissions studies.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS › FIRE ECOLOGY › FIRE OCCURRENCELAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES

Coverage & cadence

Time span2012-01-19 → ongoing
Measured bySuomi-NPP (VIIRS)
Processing levelLevel 2
Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
FormatsnetCDF-4
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 NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) FIre Light Detection Algorithm-2 (FILDA-2) Modified Combustion Efficiency (MCE) swath product (VNP47MOD) is produced in 6-minute orbit segments at 750 meter (m) resolution. The VNP47MOD product takes advantage of the rich information that visible band observation conveys at night to assess fire combustion efficiency and enhance fire detection. It also utilizes improvements made in fire detection algorithms to detect smaller and cooler fires. The VNP47MOD product includes 85 variables containing fire detection and retrievals of Radiative Power (FRP), fire Visible Energy Fraction (VEF), and Modified Combustion Efficiency (MCE). Known Issues * Known issues can be found in Section 5 of the User Guide. * 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&as=5200).

Get the data

vnp47mod_access.py

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP47MOD",
    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.

Official links

Earthdata Search allows users to search, discover, visualize, refine, and access NASA Earth Observation data. GET DATA
The LDOPE Land Product Quality Assessment website provides known issues, maneuvers, and product quality of the land products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
The technical information in the User's Guide enables users to interpret and use the data products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
The ATBD provides physical theory and mathematical procedures for the calculations used to produce the data products. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
Validation at stage 3 has been achieved for the VIIRS Fire Light Detection Algorithm-2 product suite. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION