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Description

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Moderate Resolution Terrain Correction Geolocation (VNP03MODLL) Version 2 product from the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) VIIRS sensor is produced in 6 minute temporal satellite increments (swaths) at 750 meter resolution. Intersecting the VIIRS line of sight vector with Earth’s geoid and the World Geodetic System (WGS) ellipsoid, this product is based on the SRTM30 Version 2 digital elevation model (DEM), which uses GTOPO30 data for areas from 60° North to 60° South. VNP03MODLL is a terrain correction geolocation product that provides the spatial location for various VIIRS data products. Each swath of data is approximately 3,060 kilometers along track (long) and 3,060 kilometers across track (wide).

Provided in the VNP03MODLL product are layers for height, latitude, and longitude.

These Science Data Sets (SDS) layers / Variables are used in conjunction with the VNP14 swath product for accurate geolocation information.

Known Issues

Improvements/Changes from Previous Versions

  • Improved calibration algorithm and better coefficients for entire Suomi NPP mission.
  • Improved geolocation accuracy and updates to fix outliers around maneuver periods and other events.
  • Corrections to 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 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 MODIS heritage seven class land/water mask.
  • More details can be found in this VIIRS Land V2 Changes document.

Version Description

Collection Version 2 Processing and Reprocessing

Product Summary

Platforms
Suomi-NPP
Instruments
VIIRS
Spatial Extent
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
Spatial Resolution
750 Meters x 750 Meters
Geographic Region
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2012-01-17 to Present
Temporal Resolution
1 Day
Data Partner
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)
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
Concept ID
C2545310947-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Processing Level
1A
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Geolocation

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

Lin, G. (2023). VIIRS/NPP Moderate Resolution Terrain Corrected Geolocation 6-Min L1 Swath 750m Light V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VNP03MODLL.002 Date Accessed: 2025-11-12

File Naming Convention

VNP03MODLL.A2025217.2142.002.2025218040406.h5

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (VNP03MODLL) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2025217), the Version of the data collection (002), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2025218040406), and the Data Format (h5).

Documents

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
Height Terrain height at pixel locations Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A
Latitude Latitudes of pixel locations Degree float32 N/A N/A N/A
Longitude Longitude of pixel locations Degree float32 N/A N/A N/A
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