ISLSCP II NOAA 5-year Average Monthly Snow-free Albedo from AVHRR

The objective of this work was to produce a monthly climatology of broadband surface albedos for use in global numerical weather prediction models at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Monthly means of clear-sky, surface, broadband, snow-free albedos for overhead sun illumination angle were determined using data from a five-year period from April 1985-December 1987 and January 1989-March 1991. The data set is compatible in temporal coverage and spatial resolution with a monthly climatology of green vegetation fraction (Gutman and Ignatov, 1998) delivered earlier and currently in use at NCEP. Files showing the differences between the original data set and the Land/water mask used in the International Satellite land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Initiative II are also provided.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated June 8, 2026, 20:30 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 16:45 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 42bfb1fc-098b-46c0-ab98-8f77acac2608
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/959
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-06-03T16:52:49Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher ORNL_DAAC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash a1b873ba42798d53fbd891dd52badf29f996f2a3d3a821a334bc5d343ecce84e
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -180.0, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90.0, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180.0, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90.0}]]
temporal 1985-04-01/1991-03-31
theme {"Earth Science"}