This dataset contains a high quality operational Environmental Data Record (EDR) of suspended matter from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument onboard the Suomi-NPP satellite and is produced by the NOAA Satellite and Information Service (NESDIS). The retrieval algorithm is based on a legacy product originally developed for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor but is adapted and improved upon for use by VIIRS. The aerosol mask indicates the presence of either smoke or dust. The dust and smoke masks indicate the presence of dust and smoke, respectively. Because the presence of smoke and dust are independently derived, a given pixel can be identified with both dust and smoke. The product also includes data quality information for on-earth pixels. Note, the binary aerosol, dust, and smoke mask values are dimensionless quantities. The algorithm utilizes fourteen different spectral bands ranging from 0.412 to 12 microns. The spatial resolution is 1 kilometer (km) and the temporal resolution provides global coverage daily. VIIRS Aerosol Detection data distributed by the NESDIS Data Exploitation system (NDE) and obtained from the Comprehensive Large-Array Stewardship System (CLASS) are distributed as single 86-second granules in NetCDF-4 format with metadata attributes included.