NASA's Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System Distributed Active Archive Center (LAADS DAAC) has released ten new Version 2.0 Near Real-time (NRT) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2/ NOAA-21) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) products. These include 8-day vegetation indices and daily surface reflectance products, as well as 500m and 1km bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF)/albedo, BRDF/albedo parameters, BRDF/albedo quality, and nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance products.
These NRT JPSS-2 VIIRS products provide estimates of Earth's critical surface properties by characterizing atmospherically corrected surface reflectance, vegetation dynamics, and the directional scattering of sunlight. Specifically, the BRDF and albedo datasets quantify surface reflectivity under varying solar illumination to support global energy balance calculations, while the nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) normalizes wide-swath observations to a standard overhead view for consistent environmental monitoring.
Building on these reflectance measurements, the 8-day vegetation indices assess plant health, canopy structure, and biomass. Because they are processed in NRT typically within three hours of satellite observation, these combined datasets are essential for time-sensitive operational applications such as agricultural monitoring, rapid drought and fire assessment, and weather forecasting.
Users may access and download this collection via the referenced dataset link below.
If you have any questions, please contact the LAADS User Services