DSCOVR EPIC Level 2 Vegetation Earth System Data Record (VESDR), Version 2

DSCOVR_EPIC_L2_VESDR_02 is the Deep Space Climate ObserVatoRy (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) Level 2 Vegetation Earth System Data Record (VESDR), Version 2 data product. It provides Leaf Area Index (LAI) and diurnal courses of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Sunlit Leaf Area Index (SLAI), Fraction of incident Photosynthetically Active Radiation (400-700 nm) absorbed by the vegetation (FPAR), Directional Area Scattering Function (DASF), Earth Reflector Type Index (ERTI) and Canopy Scattering Coefficient at 443 nm, 551 nm, 680 nm and 779 nm. The VESDR files also include Solar Zenith Angle (SZA), Solar Azimuthal Angle (SAA), View Zenith (VZA), and Azimuthal (VAA) angles at the same temporal and spatial resolutions. The parameters are projected on eight regional 10 km SIN grids and available at 65 to 110 min temporal frequency. The version 2 VESDR product is generated from the upstream DSCOVR EPIC L2 MAIAC (Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction version 2) surface reflectance product.

FPAR, LAI, and SLAI help monitor variability and change in global vegetation due to climate and anthropogenic influences, modeling climate, carbon, and water cycles and improving forecasting of near-surface weather. DASF provides information critical to accounting for structural contributions to measurements of leaf biochemistry from remote sensing. The canopy scattering coefficient is the Fraction of intercepted radiation reflected from or diffusely transmitted through the vegetation. This parameter is strongly correlated with leaf albedo, which depends on leaf biochemical constituents.

We also provide two ancillary science data products: "Version 2 10 km Land Cover Type" and "Version 2 Distribution of Land Cover Types within 10 km EPIC pixel." The products were derived from 500m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover type 3 product (MCDLCHKM), which was generated from 2008, 2009, and 2010 land cover products (MCD12Q1, v051).

A detailed description of the VESDR and ancillary science data products can be found in "VESDR Science Data Product Guide, version 2". Section "USER'S GUIDE" provides links to this document as well as to the two ancillary science data products.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field	Value
Maintainer	Earthdata Forum
Last Updated	August 24, 2026, 22:40 (UTC)
Created	April 1, 2025, 15:29 (UTC)
accessLevel	public
bureauCode	{026:00}
catalog_conformsTo	https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id	75ed46b2-0641-4ca1-90ed-2758daaf2e2e
harvest_source_id	b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title	Science Discovery Engine
identifier	10.5067/EPIC/DSCOVR/L2_VESDR.002
license	https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified	2026-08-17T22:16:01Z
programCode	{026:000}
publisher	NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
resource-type	Dataset
source_datajson_identifier	true
source_hash	8a08d045e290b5b65100ca412281a5627ae5881dd2940faa923091e4b2057d74
source_schema_version	1.1
spatial	["CARTESIAN", [{"Boundary": {"Points": [{"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 90, "Longitude": 180}, {"Latitude": 90, "Longitude": -180}, {"Latitude": -90, "Longitude": -180}]}}]]
temporal	2015-06-13/2026-08-17
theme	{"Earth Science"}