VIIRS Format Specifications

Format specification guide is here.
Please note that values given for attributes and scalar datasets are examples.
Jump to:
dimensions 
global attributes 
sensor_band_parametersDetails here.
scan_line_attributesDetails here.
geophysical_dataDetails here.
navigation_dataDetails here.
processing_control 
input_parameters 
flag_percentages 
Dataset Range and Scaling Attributes
References
dimensions (Top)
 
number_of_lines768
pixels_per_line3200
pixel_control_points3200
number_of_bands15
number_of_reflective_bands10
global attributes (Top)
 
titleVIIRSN Level-2 Data
product_nameV2014279165524.L2_NPP_OC.nc
processing_version2014.0QL
historyl2gen par=/data4/sdpsoper/vdc/vpu3/workbuf/SVM01_npp_d20141006_t1655251_e1656493_b15242_obpg_ops.h5.param metafile=V2014279165524.L2_NPP_OC.nc.meta
instrumentVIIRS
platformSuomi-NPP
ConventionsCF-1.6
Metadata_ConventionsUnidata Dataset Discovery v1.0
licensehttp://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/earth-science-data/data-information-policy/
naming_authoritygov.nasa.gsfc.sci.oceandata
id2014.0QL/L2/V2014279165524.L2_NPP_OC.nc
date_created2014-10-07T18:14:31.000Z
keywords_vocabularyNASA Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
keywordsOceans > Ocean Chemistry > Chlorophyll; Oceans > Ocean Optics > Ocean Color
standard_name_vocabularyNetCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Convention
institutionNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Ocean Ecology Laboratory, Ocean Biology Processing Group
creator_nameNASA/GSFC/OBPG
creator_emaildata@oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov
creator_urlhttp://oceandata.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov
projectOcean Biology Processing Group (NASA/GSFC/OBPG)
publisher_nameNASA/GSFC/OBPG
publisher_urlhttp://oceandata.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov
publisher_emaildata@oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov
processing_levelL2
cdm_data_typeswath
spatialResolution
time_coverage_start2014-10-06T16:55:25.186Z
time_coverage_end2014-10-06T16:56:48.812Z
start_center_longitude-70.9717f
start_center_latitude66.3996f
end_center_longitude-77.15447f
end_center_latitude70.96861f
northernmost_latitude73.22769f
southernmost_latitude58.55776f
easternmost_longitude-32.02996f
westernmost_longitude-103.9959f
geospatial_lat_unitsdegrees_north
geospatial_lon_unitsdegrees_east
geospatial_lat_max73.22769f
geospatial_lat_min58.55776f
geospatial_lon_max-32.02996f
geospatial_lon_min-103.9959f
startDirectionAscending
endDirectionAscending
day_night_flagDay
earth_sun_distance_correction1.00065815448761
sensor_band_parameters (Top)
Details here.
shortnamedatatypeunits long_namestandard_namereference
wavelengthfloatnmwavelengthsN/A
vcal_gainfloatVicarious Calibration GainN/A
vcal_offsetfloatmW cm^-2 um^-1 sr^-1Vicarious Calibration OffsetN/A
F0floatW m^-2 um^-1Mean Solar FluxN/A
awfloatm^-1Band-pass averaged absorption coefficient for seawatervolume absorption coefficient of radiative flux in sea water1
bbwfloatm^-1Band-pass averaged backscattering coefficient for seawatervolume backwards scattering coefficient of radiative flux in sea water2
k_ozfloatcm^-1Ozone Absorption cross-sections3
k_no2floatcm^2 molecule^-1NO2 Absorption cross-sections4
scan_line_attributes (Top)
Details here.
shortnamedatatypeunits long_namestandard_namereference
Tau_rintRayleigh Optical Thickness5
yearintyearsScan yearN/A
dayintdaysScan day of yearN/A
msecbytemillisecondsScan time, milliseconds of dayN/A
detnumbyteDetector Number (zero-based)N/A
msidefloatMirror Side (zero-based)N/A
slonfloatdegree_eastStarting LongitudeN/A
clonfloatdegree_eastCenter LongitudeN/A
elonfloatdegree_eastEnding LongitudeN/A
slatfloatdegree_northStarting LatitudeN/A
clatfloatdegree_northCenter LatitudeN/A
elatfloatdegree_northEnding LatitudeN/A
geophysical_data (Top)
Details here.
shortnamedatatypeunits long_namestandard_namereference
csol_zshortdegreeCenter Solar Zenith AngleN/A
aot_862shortAerosol optical thickness at 862 nmatmosphere absorption optical thickness due to ambient aerosolN/A
angstromshortAerosol Angstrom exponent, 443 to 865 nmaerosol angstrom exponentN/A
Rrs_410shortsr^-1Remote sensing reflectance at 410 nmsurface ratio of upwelling radiance emerging from sea water to downwelling radiative flux in airN/A
Rrs_443shortsr^-1Remote sensing reflectance at 443 nmsurface ratio of upwelling radiance emerging from sea water to downwelling radiative flux in airN/A
Rrs_486shortsr^-1Remote sensing reflectance at 486 nmsurface ratio of upwelling radiance emerging from sea water to downwelling radiative flux in airN/A
Rrs_551shortsr^-1Remote sensing reflectance at 551 nmsurface ratio of upwelling radiance emerging from sea water to downwelling radiative flux in airN/A
Rrs_671floatsr^-1Remote sensing reflectance at 671 nmsurface ratio of upwelling radiance emerging from sea water to downwelling radiative flux in airN/A
chlor_afloatmg m^-3Chlorophyll Concentration, OCI Algorithmmass concentration chlorophyll concentration in sea water6
chl_ocxshortmg m^-3Chlorophyll Concentration, OC3 Algorithmmass concentration chlorophyll concentration in sea water7
Kd_490shortm^-1Diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm, KD2 algorithmdiffuse attenuation coefficient of downwelling radiative flux in sea waterN/A
picshortmol m^-3Calcite Concentration, Balch and Gordonmole concentration of particulate inorganic carbon in sea water8
pocshortmg m^-3Particulate Organic Carbon, D. Stramski, 2007 (443/555 version)mole concentration of particulate organic carbon in sea water9
parinteinstein m^-2 day^-1Photosynthetically Available Radiation, R. Frouinsurface downwelling photosynthetic photon flux in air10
navigation_data (Top)
Details here.
shortnamedatatypeunits long_namestandard_namereference
l2_flagsfloatLevel-2 Processing FlagsN/A
longitudefloatdegree_eastLongitudelongitudeN/A
latitudeintdegree_northLatitudelatitudeN/A
cntl_pt_colsintNumber of Pixel Control PointsN/A
cntl_pt_rowsfloatNumber of Scan Control PointsN/A
Group Attributes
gringpointlongitude-35.05609f, -96.07729f, -103.9959f, -32.02996f
gringpointlatitude67.73089f, 58.55776f, 61.8792f, 72.6078f
gringpointsequence1, 2, 3, 4
processing_control (Top)
 
software_namel2gen
software_version7.0.2
sourceSVM01_npp_d20141006_t1655251_e1656493_b15242_obpg_ops.h5, GMTCO_npp_d20141006_t1655251_e1656493_b15242_obpg_ops.h5, S201427912_NCEP.MET, S201427918_NCEP.MET, S201427918_NCEP.MET, N201427800_O3_AURAOMI_24h.hdf, N201427800_O3_AURAOMI_24h.hdf, N201427800_O3_AURAOMI_24h.hdf, anc_cor_file_28jan2014.nc, VIIRS-SDR-F-LUT_npp_OBPG20140716_final.h5, xcal_viirsn_v3, polcor_viirsn, watermask15ARC.nc, watermask.dat, ETOPO1_ocssw.nc, ETOPO1_ocssw.nc, N201427800_SEAICE_NSIDC_24h.hdf, N2014279_SST_OIV2AV_24h.nc, sss_climatology_woa2009.hdf, no2_climatology_v2013.hdf, alpha510_climatology.hdf, taua865_climatology.hdf, calcite_table.txt, owmc_lut.hdf
calibration_datafile:[VIIRS-SDR-F-LUT_npp_OBPG20140716_final.h5]
mask_namesATMFAIL,LAND,CLDICE,HILT
input_parameters (Top)
 
 
flag_percentages (Top)
 
ATMFAIL4.371419f
LAND52.1086f
PRODWARN0.04166667f
HIGLINT0.f
HILT0.f
HISATZEN22.05619f
COASTZ17.95854f
SPARE0.f
STRAYLIGHT15.90719f
CLDICE80.90267f
COCCOLITH0.2377523f
TURBIDW0.4685059f
HISOLZEN84.25085f
LOWLW0.2085775f
CHLFAIL0.3728841f
NAVWARN0.f
ABSAER0.f
MAXAERITER0.4388834f
MODGLINT0.f
CHLWARN0.0001627604f
ATMWARN0.4714762f
SEAICE11.44958f
NAVFAIL0.f
FILTER0.f
HIPOL4.844727f
PRODFAIL95.092f

Dataset Range and Scaling Attributes:

shortnamevalid_minvalid_maxscaleoffsetfill value
wavelength0 1000 -32767
vcal_gain0.f 2.f -32767.f
vcal_offset0.f 10.f -32767.f
F00.f 250.f -32767.f
aw0.0001f 5.f -32767.f
bbw5.e-06f 1.f -32767.f
k_oz0.f 0.1f -32767.f
k_no20.f 0.1f -32767.f
Tau_r0.f 0.5f -32767.f
year1900 2100 -32767
day0 366 -32767
msec0 86400000 -32767
detnum0b 25b -1b
mside0b 1b -1b
slon-180.f 180.f -32767.f
clon-180.f 180.f -32767.f
elon-180.f 180.f -32767.f
slat-90.f 90.f -32767.f
clat-90.f 90.f -32767.f
elat-90.f 90.f -32767.f
csol_z-90.f 90.f -32767.f
aot_8620s (0.000)30000s (3.000)0.0001f0.f-32767s
angstrom-30000s (-0.500)5000s (3.000)0.0001f2.5f-32767s
Rrs_410-30000s (-0.010)25000s (0.100)2.e-06f0.05f-32767s
Rrs_443-30000s (-0.010)25000s (0.100)2.e-06f0.05f-32767s
Rrs_486-30000s (-0.010)25000s (0.100)2.e-06f0.05f-32767s
Rrs_551-30000s (-0.010)25000s (0.100)2.e-06f0.05f-32767s
Rrs_671-30000s (-0.010)25000s (0.100)2.e-06f0.05f-32767s
chlor_a0.001f 100.f -32767.f
chl_ocx0.001f 100.f -32767.f
Kd_49050s (0.010)30000s (6.000)0.0002f0.f-32767s
pic-32500s (0.000)30000s (0.125)2.e-06f0.065f-32767s
poc-32000s (0.000)-27000s (1000.000)0.2f6400.f-32767s
par 0.002f65.5f-32767s
l2_flags-2147483648 2147483647
longitude-180.f 180.f -32767.f
latitude-90.f 90.f -32767.f
cntl_pt_cols0 10000 -32767
cntl_pt_rows0 10000 -32767

References:

1 (aw): Pope, R.M. and Fry, E.S., 1997, "Absorption spectrum (380-700 nm) of pure water. II. Integrating cavity measurements," Appl. Opt.,36, 8710-8723.; Kou, L., Labrie, D., Chylek, P., 1993, "Refractive indices of water and ice in the 0.65-2.5 m spectral range," Appl. Opt.,32, 3531-3540 (1993).
2 (bbw): Zhang, X., Hu, L., and He, M.-X. (2009). Scattering by pure seawater: effect of salinity, Opt. Express 17(7)
3 (k_oz): Anderson, S.M., Morton, J., and Mauersberger, K.. "Near-infrared absorption spectra of 16O3 and 18O3: Adiabatic energy of the 1A2 state?." The Journal of Chemical Physics 93.6 (1990): 3826-3832.; Anderson, Stuart M., Maeder, J., and Mauersberger, K. "Effect of isotopic substitution on the visible absorption spectrum of ozone." The Journal of chemical physics 94.10 (1991): 6351-6357; http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/92GL00780; http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/93GL01765; http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/93GL02311
4 (k_no2): K. Bogumil, et al., "Measurements of molecular absorption spectra with the SCIAMACHY pre-flight model: Instrument characterization and reference data for atmospheric remote sensing in the 230-2380 nm region," J. Photochem. Photobiol. A.: Photochem. 157, 167-184 (2003).; W. Schneider,et al., "Absorption cross-sections of NO2 in the UV and visible region (200 - 700 nm) at 298 K", J. Photochem. Photobiol. 40, 195-217 (1987)
5 (Tau_r): Bodhaine, B.A., Wood, N.B, Dutton, E.G., Slusser, J.R. (1999). On Rayleigh Optical Depth Calculations, J. Atmos. Ocean Tech., 16, 1854-1861.
6 (chlor_a): Hu, C., Lee Z., and Franz, B.A. (2012). Chlorophyll-a algorithms for oligotrophic oceans: A novel approach based on three-band reflectance difference, J. Geophys. Res., 117, C01011, doi:10.1029/2011JC007395.
7 (chl_ocx): O\'Reilly, J.E., and 24 Coauthors, 2000: SeaWiFS Postlaunch Calibration and Validation Analyses, Part 3. NASA Tech. Memo. 2000-206892, Vol. 11, S.B. Hooker and E.R. Firestone, Eds., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 49 pp.; https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/reprocessing/r2009/ocv6/
8 (pic): Balch, W.M., Gordon, H.R., Bowler, B.C., Drapeau, D.T., and Booth, E.S. (2005), Calcium carbonate measurements in the surface global ocean based on Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C07001, doi:10.1029/2004JC002560; Gordon, H.R. Boynton, G.C., Balch, W.M., Groom, S.B., Harbour, D.S., Smyth, T.J., Retrieval of Coccolithophore Calcite Concentration from SeaWiFS Imagery, GRL, 28, 8, 1587-1590.
9 (poc): Stramski, D., et al. "Relationships between the surface concentration of particulate organic carbon and optical properties in the eastern South Pacific and eastern Atlantic Oceans." Biogeosciences 5.1 (2008): 171-201.
10 (par): Frouin, R., Ligner, D.W., and Gautier, C., 1989: A Simple analytical formula to compute clear sky total and photosynthetically available solar irradiance at the ocean surface. J. Geophys. Res., 94, 9731-9742.