VJ113C1 v002

VIIRS/JPSS1 Vegetation Indices 16-Day L3 Global 0.05 Deg CMG


PI: Eric Vermote

Description

The NOAA-20 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Vegetation Indices (VJ113C1) Version 2 data product provides vegetation indices by a process of selecting the best available pixel over a 16-day acquisition period at 0.05 degree resolution. The VNP13 data products are designed after the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua Vegetation Indices product suite to promote the continuity of the Earth Observation System (EOS) mission.

The VJ113 algorithm process produces three vegetation indices: The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and the Enhanced Vegetation Index-2 (EVI2). NDVI is one of the longest continual remotely sensed time series observations, using both the red and near-infrared (NIR) bands. EVI is a slightly different vegetation index that is more sensitive to canopy cover, while NDVI is more sensitive to chlorophyll. EVI2 is a reformation of the standard 3-band EVI, using the red band and NIR band. This reformation addresses arising issues when comparing VIIRS EVI to other EVI models that do not include a blue band. EVI2 will eventually become the standard EVI.

Along with the three Vegetation Indices layers, this product also includes layers for the standard deviations of each Vegetation Index; NIR reflectance; three shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance; red, blue, and green reflectance; number of pixels, number of pixels used; pixel reliability; average sun angle, and a quality layer. Two low resolution browse images are also available for each VJ113C1 product: EVI and NDVI.

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Characteristics

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Improved calibration algorithm and coefficients for entire NOAA-20 mission.
  • Improved geolocation accuracy and applied updates to fix outliers around maneuver periods.
  • Corrected the aerosol quantity flag (low, average, high) mainly over brighter surfaces in the mid- to high-latitudes such as desert and tropical vegetation areas. This has an impact on the retrieval of other downstream data products such as VNP13 Vegetation Indices and VNP43 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)/Albedo.
  • Improved cloud mask input product for corrections along coastlines and artifacts from use of coarse resolution climatology data.
  • Replaced the land/water mask input product with the eight-class land/water mask from the VNP03 geolocation product that better aligns with MODIS.
  • Modified QA VI Usefulness bits to ignore BRDF flag.
  • Implemented VI specific land/water mask.

More details can be found in this VIIRS Land V2 Changes document.

Product Maturity

Validation at stage 1 has been achieved for the VIIRS Vegetation Index (VI) product suite. Visit VIIRS Land Product Quality Assessment Product Maturity for information on product maturity status.

Collection and Granule

Collection

Characteristic Description
CollectionNOAA-20 VIIRS
DOI10.5067/VIIRS/VJ113C1.002
File Size~159 MB
Temporal ResolutionMonthly
Temporal Extent2018-01-01 to Present
Spatial ExtentGlobal
Coordinate SystemGeographic Latitude and Longitude
DatumN/A
File FormatHDF-EOS5
Geographic DimensionsGlobal

Granule

Characteristic Description
Number of Science Dataset (SDS) Layers18
Columns/Rows7200 x 3600
Pixel Size5600 m

Layers / Variables

SDS Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value No Data Value Valid Range Scale Factor
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days #1km pix +-30deg VZ CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days #1km pix +-30deg VZ Number 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 36 N/A
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days #1km pix used CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days #1km pix used Number 8-bit unsigned integer 255 N/A 0 to 36 N/A
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days Avg sun zen angle CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days Avg sun zen angle Degree 16-bit signed integer -20000 N/A 0 to 18000 100
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI EVI 16-bit signed integer -15000, -14000, -13000, -12000 N/A -10000 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI std dev CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI std dev EVI 16-bit signed integer -15000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI2 CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI2 EVI2 16-bit signed integer -15000, -14000, -13000, -12000 N/A -10000 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI2 std dev CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days EVI2 std dev EVI2 16-bit signed integer -15000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days NDVI CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days NDVI NDVI 16-bit signed integer -15000, -14000, -13000, -12000 N/A -10000 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days NDVI std dev CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days NDVI std dev NDVI 16-bit signed integer -15000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days NIR reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days NIR reflectance (846–885 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days SWIR1 reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days SWIR1 reflectance (1230–1250 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days SWIR2 reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days SWIR2 reflectance (1580–1640 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days SWIR3 reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days SWIR3 reflectance (2225–2275 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days VI Quality CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days VI Quality Bit Field 16-bit unsigned integer 65535 N/A 0 to 65534 N/A
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days blue reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days blue reflectance (478–498 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days green reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days green reflectance (545–565 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days pixel reliability CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days pixel reliability Rank 8-bit signed integer -4 to -1 N/A 0 to 11 N/A
CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days red reflectance CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days red reflectance (600–680 nm) N/A 16-bit signed integer -1000 N/A 0 to 10000 10000

All scale factors are to be divided.

Fill Values for the Vegetation Index Layers

Fill Value Description
-15000 over ocean/water
-14000 over Antarctica
-13000 over land
-12000 over high latitude during the dark winter

Fill Values for the Pixel Reliability Layer

Fill Value Description
-4 over ocean/water
-3 over Antarctica
-2 over high latitude during the dark winter
-1 over land

Rankings for the Pixel Reliability Layer

Rank Description
0 Excellent
1 Good
2 Acceptable
3 Marginal
4 Pass
5 Questionable
6 Poor
7 Cloud Shadow
8 Snow/Ice
9 Cloud
10 Estimated
11 LTAVG

Product Quality

Product Quality information can be found in the combined User Guide and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD). For the “CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days pixel reliability” SDS Layer, a rank quality table for each pixel can be found in Table 5. For the “CMG 0.05 Deg 16 days VI Quality” SDS Layer, for use with all VI’s, a bit field Quality Assurance table can be found in Table 13, with additional information available in Tables 22 and 23. Accuracy Precision and Uncertainty information is available in Section 12.1.4.

The Quality Assessment (QA) layer is stored in an efficient bit-encoded manner. The unpack_sds_bits executable from the LDOPE Tools is available to the user community to help parse and interpret the quality layer.

Quality assurance information should be considered when determining the usability of data for a particular science application. The ArcGIS MODIS-VIIRS Python Toolbox contains tools capable of decoding quality data layers while producing thematic quality raster files for each quality attribute.

For additional information on product quality, refer to the VIIRS Land Product Quality website.

Known Issues

Due to missing critical inputs, this product lacks coverage for tiles h33v07 and h18v14, which are located over water.

For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website and the User Guide and ATBD.


About the image

Global NDVI from the VJ113C1 product over Brazil during July 2023.

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Documentation

User Guide and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD)
File Specification

Using the Data

Access Data

Citation

DOI: 10.5067/VIIRS/VJ113C1.002