VIIRS Stray Light Corrected Nighttime Day/Night Band Composites Version 1 (NOAA/VIIRS/DNB/MONTHLY_V1/VCMSLCFG)

Monthly average radiance composite images using nighttime data from the
Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB).

As these data are composited monthly, there are many areas of the globe
where it is impossible to get good quality data coverage for that month.
This can be due to cloud cover, especially in the tropical regions, or due
to solar illumination, as happens toward the poles in their respective
summer months. Therefore it is recommended that users of these data utilize
the ‘cf_cvg’ band and not assume a value of zero in the average radiance
image means that no lights were observed.

Cloud cover is determined using the VIIRS Cloud
Mask product (VCM). In addition, data near the edges of the swath are not
included in the composites (aggregation zones 29-32). Version 1 has NOT
been filtered to screen out lights from aurora, fires, boats, and other
temporal lights. This separation is under development and will be included
in a later version of this time series. Also in development is a method to
separate lights from background (non-light) values.

This product is an alternative configuration of the VIIRS DNB using a
procedure to correct for stray light. The correction procedure extends
visible areas closer to the poles and improves dynamic range. It should be
noted some artifacts are introduced due to the procedure used in twilight
regions; see reference paper
for more details. This product excludes data
impacted by cloud cover.