Abstract— The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a comprehensive multispectral imager covering the spectral range between 0.4 µm and 12.0 µm. It obtains full global coverage using a ~3000 km swath on a daily basis in 22 spectral bands at nadir spatial resolutions between 0.38 km and 0.76 km. VIIRS was launched on the Suomi National Polar- orbiting Partnership (NPP) mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base on October 28, 2011. The instrument was activated on November 10, 2011. Shortwave scene data became available immediately after the nadir aperture doors were opened on November 21, 2011, while the thermal cooler doors were opened on Jan 18, 2012. By the following day Suomi-NPP was acquiring its first active fire detections. The seven VIIRS thermal infrared bands were considered stable starting Jan. 20, 2012. This paper provides a summary of the status of on-going data processing, archiving, and early on-orbit evaluation of the VIIRS Land Environmental Data Records (EDRs). 1. VIIRS LAND EDR PRODUCT SUITE he VIIRS Land products are grouped into three general product categories: (1) radiation budget variables, including surface reflectance (corrected for effects of the atmosphere) (Fig. 1a), land surface temperature (Fig. 1b), and surface albedo (Fig. 1c); (2) ecosystem variables, such as vegetation indices (Fig. 1d); and (3) land-cover characteristics, *Corresponding Author. Tel.: +1 301 614 5498; fax: +1 301 614 5269. E-mail address: Miguel.O.Roman@nasa.gov (M.O. Román). including surface type (Fig. 1e) and the location of active fires (Fig. 1f). Scientists are also working on cryospheric products, e.g., snow cover (Fig. 1g) and ice age (Fig. 1h). These products are being developed and evaluated jointly by NASA and NOAA scientists, through the NASA Soumi –NPP Science Team and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program. The NASA Land Discipline Team also includes The VIIRS Land discipline team, a subset of the Soumi-NPP Science Team, also monitors several upstream products that impact land product quality, including the Sensor Data Records (SDRs), geolocation and gridding, as well as aerosol optical thickness and cloud mask over land. 2. PRODUCT MATURITY STATUS The “early release” VIIRS Land EDRs have been available since “first light” to allow end users to gain familiarity with data formats and parameters. However, the products have undergone limited ‘Beta’ testing and in some cases contain significant errors. Hence, their data quality currently may not be appropriate for operational applications and further detailed evaluation is needed to determine their suitability for quantitative scientific studies (cf., Table 1). As the VIIRS on-orbit performance becomes more stable and ground-truth campaigns and data examination exercises are accomplished by the JPSS Land EDR and NASA VIIRS Land discipline teams, the JPSS program will work toward getting provisional products out to the community. STATUS OF THE SUOMI NPP VISIBLE/INFRARED IMAGER RADIOMETER SUITE’S (VIIRS) LAND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA RECORDS (EDRs) AFTER EARLY EVALUATION OF ON-ORBIT PERFORMANCE Miguel O. Román a , Ivan Csiszar b , Chris Justice c , Jeffrey Key d , Jeff Privette e , Sadashiva Devadiga f , Carol Davidson f , Robert E. Wolfe a , and Edward J. Masuoka a a Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory (Code 619), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA b NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA c Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA d NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, Madison, WI, USA e NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, USA f Sigma Space Corporation at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA f NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, USA T