The Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) NASA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Vegetation Indices (VNP13A3) Version 1 data product provides vegetation indices by a process of selecting the best available pixel over a monthly acquisition period at 1 kilometer (km) 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 VNP13 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 NIR reflectance; three shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance; red, blue, and green reflectance; pixel reliability; pixel reliability; relative azimuth, view, and sun angles; and a quality layer. Two low resolution browse images are also available for each VNP13A3 product: EVI and NDVI.
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.
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Collection | S-NPP VIIRS |
| DOI | 10.5067/VIIRS/VNP13A3.001 |
| File Size | ~13 MB |
| Temporal Resolution | Monthly |
| Temporal Extent | 2012-01-01 to Present |
| Spatial Extent | Global |
| Coordinate System | Sinusoidal |
| Datum | N/A |
| File Format | HDF-EOS5 |
| Geographic Dimensions | 1200 km x 1200 km |
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Number of Science Dataset (SDS) Layers | 15 |
| Columns/Rows | 1200 x 1200 |
| Pixel Size | 1000 m |
| SDS Name | Description | Units | Data Type | Fill Value | No Data Value | Valid Range | Scale Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km monthly EVI | 3 band Enhanced Vegetation Index | EVI | 16-bit signed integer | -15000, -13000 | N/A | -10000 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly EVI2 | 2 band Enhanced Vegetation Index | EVI2 | 16-bit signed integer | -15000, -13000 | N/A | -10000 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly NDVI | Normalized Difference Vegetation Index | NDVI | 16-bit signed integer | -15000, -13000 | N/A | -10000 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly NIR reflectance | Near-infrared Radiation reflectance (846–885 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly SWIR1 reflectance | Shortwave Infrared Radiation reflectance (1230–1250 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly SWIR2 reflectance | Shortwave Infrared Radiation reflectance (1580–1640 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly SWIR3 reflectance | Shortwave Infrared Radiation reflectance (2225–2275 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly VI Quality | Bit field that assigns each pixel a Quality Assessment (QA) attribute | Bit Field | 16-bit unsigned integer | 65535 | N/A | 0 to 65534 | N/A |
| 1 km monthly blue reflectance | Blue band reflectance (478–498 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly green reflectance | Green band reflectance (545–565 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly pixel reliability | Pixel usefulness using a simple rank class | Rank | 8-bit signed integer | -4, -1 | N/A | 0 to 11 | N/A |
| 1 km monthly red reflectance | Red band reflectance (600–680 nm) | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | -1000 | N/A | 0 to 10000 | 10000 |
| 1 km monthly relative azimuth angle | Relative azimuth angle for each pixel | Degree | 16-bit signed integer | -20000 | N/A | -18000 to 18000 | 100 |
| 1 km monthly sun zenith angle | Sun zenith angle for each pixel | Degree | 16-bit signed integer | -20000 | N/A | 0 to 18000 | 100 |
| 1 km monthly view zenith angle | View zenith angle for each pixel | Degree | 16-bit signed integer | -20000 | N/A | 0 to 18000 | 100 |
All scale factors are to be divided.
| Fill Value | Description |
|---|---|
| -15000 | over ocean/water |
| -13000 | over land |
| Fill Value | Description |
|---|---|
| -4 | over ocean/water |
| -1 | over land |
| 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 information can be found in the combined User Guide and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD). For the “1 km monthly pixel reliability” SDS Layer, a rank quality table for each pixel can be found in Table 5 on page 35. For the “1 km monthly VI Quality” SDS Layer, for use with all VI’s, a bit field Quality Assurance table can be found in Table 13 on pages 43-44, with additional information available in Table 20 on page 53. Accuracy Precision and Uncertainty information is available on page 65.
The incorrect representation of the aerosol quantities (low, average, high) in the VIIRS Land Surface Reflectance product (VNP09) may have impacted VNP13 Vegetation Index data products particularly over arid bright surfaces.
Corrections will be implemented in Collection 2 reprocessing in 2020.