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Description

The NOAA-20 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Vegetation Indices (VJ113A3) Version 2 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 VJ113 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 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 VJ113A3 product: EVI and NDVI.

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.

Version Description

NOAA-20 (JPSS-1) VIIRS data products, designated as "VJ1", were introduced in VIIRS Version 2.

Product Summary

Platforms
NOAA-20
Instruments
VIIRS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
1000 Meters x 1000 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
VIIRS Sinusoidal Tiling System
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2018-01-01 to Present
Temporal Resolution
1 Month
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Land Science Investigator-led Processing System, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division, Sciences and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/TISL/LandSIPS)
Concept ID
C2519123479-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
27548
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) ,
Plant Phenology

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Vermote, E. (2023). VIIRS/JPSS1 Vegetation Indices Monthly L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VJ113A3.002 Date Accessed: 2026-02-17

File Naming Convention

VJ113A3.A2025152.h06v03.002.2025205234017.h5

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (VJ113A3) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025152), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h06v03), the Version of the data collection (002), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025205234017), and the Data Format (h5).

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
1 km monthly EVI 3 band Enhanced Vegetation Index EVI int16 -15000 -10000 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly green reflectance Green band reflectance (545–565 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly NIR reflectance Near-infrared Radiation reflectance (846–885 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly pixel reliability Pixel usefulness using a simple rank class Rank int8 -4 0 to 11 N/A
1 km monthly red reflectance Red band reflectance (600–680 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly relative azimuth angle Relative azimuth angle for each pixel Degree int16 -20000 -18000 to 18000 100
1 km monthly sun zenith angle Sun zenith angle for each pixel Degree int16 -20000 0 to 18000 100
1 km monthly SWIR1 reflectance Shortwave Infrared Radiation reflectance (1230–1250 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly SWIR2 reflectance Shortwave Infrared Radiation reflectance (1580–1640 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly SWIR3 reflectance Shortwave Infrared Radiation reflectance (2225–2275 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly VI Quality Bit field that assigns each pixel a Quality Assessment (QA) attribute Bit Field uint16 65535 0 to 65534 N/A
1 km monthly blue reflectance Blue band reflectance (478–498 nm) N/A int16 -1000 0 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly EVI2 2 band Enhanced Vegetation Index EVI2 int16 -15000 -10000 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI int16 -15000 -10000 to 10000 10000
1 km monthly view zenith angle View zenith angle for each pixel Degree int16 -20000 0 to 18000 100
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