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Description

The VNP15A2H VIIRS Version 1 data product was decommissioned on April 8th, 2025. Users are encouraged to use Version 2 data products, which provide better calibration and consistency for the end user. VIIRS Version 2 data products are available from both the SNPP (VNP15A2H) and NOAA-20 (VJ115A2H) satellites.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) Version 1 data product provides information about the vegetative canopy layer at 500 meter resolution (VNP15A2H). The VIIRS sensor is located aboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. LAI is an index that quantifies the one-sided leaf area of a canopy, while FPAR is the fraction of incoming solar energy absorbed through photosynthesis at 400 to 700 nanometers. This product is intentionally designed after the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI/FPAR operational algorithm to promote the continuity of the Earth Observation System (EOS) mission.

The VNP15A2H product includes six Science Data Set Layers for the analysis of key factors in LAI/FPAR measurements. These include the LAI and FPAR measurements, quality detail for LAI/FPAR, extra quality detail for FPAR, and the standard deviation for LAI and FPAR. Two low resolution browse images are also available for each VNP15A2H granule: LAI and FPAR.

Known Issues

Product Summary

Platforms
Suomi-NPP
Instruments
VIIRS
Spatial Extent

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

Spatial Resolution
500 Meters x 500 Meters
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2012-01-17 to 2024-06-16
Temporal Resolution
8 Day
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
C2763377739-LPCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Leaf Characteristics ,
Photosynthetically Active Radiation ,
Leaf Area Index (LAI) ,
Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar)

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

Myneni, R., & Knyazikhin, Y. (2018). VIIRS/NPP Leaf Area Index/FPAR 8-Day L4 Global 500m SIN Grid V001 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/VIIRS/VNP15A2H.001 Date Accessed: 2026-02-15

File Naming Convention

VNP15A2H.A2024161.h01v10.001.2024169131056.h5

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (VNP15A2H) followed by the Julian Date of Acquisition formatted as AYYYYDDD (A2024161), the Tile Identifier which is horizontal tile and vertical tile provided as hXXvYY (h01v10), the Version of the data collection (001), the Julian Date and Time of Production designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2024169131056), 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
Fpar Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation N/A uint8 249 0 to 100 0.01
FparExtra_QC Pass-through Quality Control (QC) for FPAR Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A
FparLai_QC Quality for LAI and FPAR Class Flag uint8 255 0 to 254 N/A
FparStdDev Standard deviation of FPAR N/A uint8 248 0 to 100 0.01
Lai Leaf Area Index m²/m² uint8 249 0 to 100 0.1
LaiStdDev Standard deviation for LAI m²/m² uint8 248 0 to 100 0.1
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