Earthdata Forum

On 31 March 2016, the OBPG will cease the distribution of SNPP VIIRS granules          
in the original 86-second SDR format.  All VIIRS Level-1A, Level-1B, and               
geolocation data distributed through the ocean color web portal after that             
date will be in the new NASA-defined netCDF4 format, chunked into 6-minute             
granule lengths.   We have been producing this new product format in parallel
since August 2015, but the timing of the hard transition is  governed by discontinuation
of the current NOAA Level-0 RDR feed and SD3E gateway to NASA, which is
being replaced by an alternative feed managed by NASA's EOS Data and
Operations System (EDOS).                                                      
                                                                                       
An update to the code distributed with SeaDAS to be able to process these new VIIRS    
formats will be forthcoming.  While we are making every effort to get the SeaDAS update
ready prior to the transition, it is possible it may take a little longer to complete. 
                                                                                       
We also anticipate a reprocessing of the full VIIRS mission in the new formats to occur
shortly after the transition.  This is primarily to ensure a consistently processed data
set, but we may also include an improved temporal calibration.  Details of this potential          
reprocessing will be posted as soon. 

Regards,
Sean

As of 31 March 2016, the distribution of SNPP VIIRS granules in the original 86-second SDR
format ceased.  The new NASA-defined netCDF4 format, chunked into 6-minute granules are
available for the full mission (defined as starting on 02 Jan 2012).  All OB.DAAC data portals
have been updated to distribute only these new files, the older SDR format files have been
removed from distribution.

The primary product suite (ocean color) has been generated through Level 3 for the full mission.
The secondary inherent optical property (IOP) suite and the Level 3 evaluation products will be
regenerated over the next week or two.

An update to the code distributed with SeaDAS to be able to process these new VIIRS    
formats will be forthcoming.  While we are making every effort to get the SeaDAS update
ready as soon as possible, we were not able to do so prior to the transition.  We hope to
have the SeaDAS update released within a week or so.

We still anticipate a reprocessing of the full VIIRS mission in the new formats to implement
a revised temporal calibration that is currently under evaluation.  We expect the revised calibration 
to be finalized over the next 4 to 8 weeks.  Details of this reprocessing will be posted soon.

Regards,
Sean