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Description

The Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a multi-disciplinary instrument that is being flown on the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series of spacecraft, including the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) that launched in October 2011. JPSS is a multi-platform, multi-agency program that consolidates the polar orbiting spacecraft of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). S-NPP is the initial spacecraft in this series, and VIIRS is the successor to MODIS for Earth science data product generation. VIIRS has 22 spectral bands ranging from 412 nm to 12 nm. There are 16 moderate-resolution bands (750m at nadir), 5 image-resolution bands (375m), and one day-night band (DNB).

Version Description

Reprocessing of Ocean Color (OC) Datasets

Product Summary

Platforms
NOAA-20
Instruments
VIIRS
Spatial Extent

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

Geographic Region
GLOBAL OCEAN
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2017-11-29 to Present
Data Partner
Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG) ,
Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center (OB.DAAC), Global Change Data Center, Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD/GCDC/OB.DAAC)
Concept ID
C3396928937-OB_CLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
135936
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Reflectance ,
Absorption ,
Scattering ,
Gelbstoff ,
Phytoplankton

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

NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group. (2025). NOAA-20 VIIRS Level-3 Global Mapped Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) Data, version 2022.0 [Data set]. NASA Ocean Biology Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/NOAA-20/VIIRS/L3M/IOP/2022.0 Date Accessed: 2025-12-16

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
adg_445 Absorption due to gelbstoff and detrital material at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -30000 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
adg_s detrital and gelbstoff absorption spectral parameter for GIOP model m^-1 nm^-1 float32 -32767 0 to 5 N/A
adg_unc_445 Uncertainty in absorption due to gelbstoff and detrital material at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
aph_445 Absorption due to phytoplankton at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
aph_unc_445 Uncertainty in absorption due to phytoplankton at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 25000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_411 Total absorption at 411 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_445 Total absorption at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_489 Total absorption at 489 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_556 Total absorption at 556 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
a_667 Total absorption at 667 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -24998 to 32000 9.9999997473788E-5
bbp_445 Particulate backscattering at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 1999 4.9999998736894E-6
bbp_s backscattering spectral parameter for GIOP model m^-1 nm^-1 float32 -32767 -3 to 3 N/A
bbp_unc_445 Uncertainty in particulate backscatter at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_411 Total backscattering at 411 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_445 Total backscattering at 445 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_489 Total backscattering at 489 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_556 Total backscattering at 556 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
bb_667 Total backscattering at 667 nm, GIOP model m^-1 int16 -32767 -27999 to 31999 4.9999998736894E-6
lat Latitude degrees_north float32 -999 -90 to 90 N/A
lon Longitude degrees_east float32 -999 -180 to 180 N/A
palette palette N/A uint8 N/A N/A N/A
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