The nadir reflectance day/night band from the VNP43DNBA1 product over Algeria, Africa on October 1, 2019.
View full-size imageThe NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Albedo Model Parameters (VNP43DNBA1) Version 1 product provides BRDF/Albedo model parameters at 1 kilometer (km) resolution. The VNP43DNBA1 product is produced daily using 16 days of VIIRS data and is weighted temporally to the ninth day, which is reflected in the file name. The VNP43 data products are designed to promote the continuity of NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) BRDF/Albedo data product suite.
The VNP43 algorithm uses the RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal (RTLSR) semi-empirical kernel-driven BRDF model, with the three kernel weights from VNP43DNBA1 to reconstruct surface anisotropic effects, correcting the directional reflectance to a common view geometry (VNP43DNBA4), while also computing integrated black-sky albedo (BSA) at local solar noon and white-sky albedo (WSA) (VNP43DNBA3). Researchers can use the BRDF model parameters with a simple polynomial to obtain black-sky albedo at any solar illumination angle. Likewise, both the BSA and WSA Science Dataset (SDS) layers can be used with a simple polynomial to manually estimate instantaneous actual albedo (blue-sky albedo). Additional details regarding the methodology are available in the Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD).
The VNP43DNBA1 data product provides two SDS layers for mandatory quality and model parameters representing fiso, fvol, and fgeo for the VIIRS DNB. A low-resolution browse is also available showing BRDF/Albedo parameters for the DNB as a red, green, blue (RGB) image in JPEG format.
Validation at stage 3 has been achieved for the VIIRS BRDF/Albedo product suite. Visit the VIIRS Land Product Quality Assessment website for additional information on validation and product maturity status.
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Collection | Suomi NPP VIIRS |
| DOI | 10.5067/VIIRS/VNP43DNBA1.001 |
| File Size | ~10 MB |
| Temporal Resolution | Daily |
| Temporal Extent | 2012-01-19 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 | 2 |
| Columns/Rows | 1200 x 1200 |
| Pixel Size | 1000 m |
| SDS Name | Description | Units | Data Type | Fill Value | No Data Value | Valid Range | Scale Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_DNB | BRDF/Albedo mandatory quality for DNB | N/A | 8-bit unsigned integer | 255 | N/A | 0 to 1 | N/A |
| BRDF_Albedo_Parameters_DNB | Multi-dimensional layer for DNB of parameters: fiso, fvol, and fgeo | N/A | 16-bit signed integer | 32767 | N/A | 0 to 1000 | 0.001 |
Product accuracy/uncertainty information can be found in Section 4 of the ATBD. Additional quality information can be found in the VNP43DNBA2 data product.
The abnormally high activation of the high aerosol flag in the Collection 1 (C1) VNP09 product has impacted downstream products. The VNP43 BRDF/Albedo/NBAR product is affected by reducing the number of otherwise acceptable observations used as input to characterize surface anisotropy. This effect (most obvious over arid bright surfaces) results in a reduced number of high quality full BRDF model inversions. Therefore, users should be aware that bright arid surfaces (normally associated with high quality BRDF/Albedo/NBAR retrievals) are likely to be somewhat represented by lower quality results in C1. VNP09 has been corrected for Collection 2 (C2). Therefore, users should avoid substantive use of C1 VNP43 over arid regions (and wait for C2 products). In any event, users are always strongly encouraged to download and use the extensive QA data provided in VNP43[I-M]A2, in addition to the briefer mandatory QA provided as part of the VNP43[I-M]A1, 3 and 4 products.
For complete information about known issues please refer to the MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website.