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Description

The NOAA-20 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Nadir Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) Version 2 product provides NBAR estimates at 500 meter (m) resolution. The VJ143IA4 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 view angle effects are removed from the directional reflectances, resulting in a stable and consistent NBAR product. The VJ143 data products are designed to promote the continuity of NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) BRDF/Albedo data product suite.

The VJ143 algorithm uses the RossThick/Li-Sparse-Reciprocal (RTLSR) semi-empirical kernel-driven BRDF model, with the three kernel weights from VJ143IA1 to reconstruct surface anisotropic effects, correcting the directional reflectance to a common view geometry (VJ143IA4), while also computing integrated black-sky albedo (BSA) at local solar noon and white-sky albedo (WSA) (VJ143IA3). 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 VJ143IA4 product includes six SDS layers for BRDF/Albedo mandatory quality and nadir reflectance for VIIRS imagery bands I1, I2, and I3. A low-resolution browse image is also available showing NBAR bands I1, I2, and I1 as an RGB (red, green, blue) image in JPEG format.

Known Issues

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
500 Meters x 500 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 Day
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMASS-B/SFE) ,
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
C2545310926-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
952255
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
Anisotropy ,
Albedo

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

Schaaf, C., Wang, Z., Erb, A., & Paynter, I. (2024). VIIRS/JPSS1 BRDF/Albedo Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Ref Daily L3 Global 500m SIN Grid V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VJ143IA4.002 Date Accessed: 2026-02-13

File Naming Convention

VJ143IA4.A2025215.h03v05.002.2025223072110.h5

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (VJ143IA4) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025215), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h03v05), the Version of the data collection (002), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025223072110), 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
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_I1 BRDF/Albedo mandatory quality for band I1 Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 1 N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_I2 BRDF/Albedo mandatory quality for band I2 Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 1 N/A
BRDF_Albedo_Band_Mandatory_Quality_I3 BRDF/Albedo mandatory quality for band I3 Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 1 N/A
Nadir_Reflectance_I1 Nadir BRDF/Albedo Reflectance at local solar noon for band I1 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Nadir_Reflectance_I2 Nadir BRDF/Albedo Reflectance at local solar noon for band I2 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
Nadir_Reflectance_I3 Nadir BRDF/Albedo Reflectance at local solar noon for band I3 N/A int16 32767 0 to 10000 0.0001
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