Brief communication: Daily, gap-free snow cover information based on a combination of NPP VIIRS and MODIS data

Combining Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) snow cover data and applying cloud- and data gap interpolation steps can be utilized to generate daily, gap-free snow cover information. Provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) under the name “Global SnowPack”, this product has undergone several improvements, comprising the inclusion of VIIRS, a new threshold for the Normalized Difference Snow index (NDSI), and considerable validation. The Global SnowPack offers unique opportunities for analyzing time series of snow cover data since September 2000 and is freely available for visualization and download from DLRs GeoService.