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Description
The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission aims to characterize ecosystem structure and dynamics to enable radically improved quantification and understanding of the Earth’s carbon cycle and biodiversity. The GEDI instrument produces high resolution laser ranging observations of the 3-dimensional structure of the Earth. GEDI is attached to the International Space Station (ISS) and collects data globally between 51.6° N and 51.6° S latitudes at the highest resolution and densest sampling of any light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument in orbit to date. Each GEDI Version 2 granule encompasses one-fourth of an ISS orbit and includes georeferenced metadata to allow for spatial querying and subsetting.
The GEDI instrument was removed from the ISS and placed into storage on March 17, 2023. No data were acquired during the hibernation period from March 17, 2023, to April 24, 2024. GEDI has since been reinstalled on the ISS and resumed operations as of April 26, 2024.
The purpose of the GEDI Level 2B Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics product (GEDI02_B) is to extract biophysical metrics from each GEDI waveform. These metrics are based on the directional gap probability profile derived from the L1B waveform. Metrics provided include canopy cover, Plant Area Index (PAI), Plant Area Volume Density (PAVD), and Foliage Height Diversity (FHD). The GEDI02_B product is provided in HDF5 format and has a spatial resolution (average footprint) of 25 meters.
The GEDI02_B data product contains 96 layers for each of the eight-beam ground transects (or laser footprints located on the land surface). Datasets provided include precise latitude, longitude, elevation, height, canopy cover, and vertical profile metrics. Additional information for the layers can be found in the GEDI Level 2B Data Dictionary.
Known Issues
Data acquisition gaps: GEDI data acquisitions were suspended on December 19, 2019 (2019 Day 353) and resumed on January 8, 2020 (2020 Day 8).
Incorrect Reference Ground Track (RGT) number in the filename for select GEDI files: GEDI Science Data Products for six orbits on August 7, 2020, and November 12, 2021, had the incorrect RGT number in the filename. There is no impact to the science data, but users should reference this document for the correct RGT numbers.
Known Issues: Section 8 of the User Guide provides additional information on known issues.
Version Description
The following changes and improvements were implemented for GEDI Version 2 data products: (1) Reduced granule size from one full ISS orbit (~7.99 GB) to four segments per orbit (~2.00 GB), (2) Modified file name to include segment number and dataset version, (3) Improved geolocation for orbital segments, (4) Added elevation from the SRTM digital elevation model for comparison, (5) Modified the method to predict an optimum algorithm setting group per laser shot, (6) Added additional land cover datasets related to phenology, urban infrastructure, and water persistence, (7) Added selected_mode_flag dataset to root beam group using selected algorithm, and (8) Removed shots when the laser is not firing.
Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.
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Dubayah, R., Tang, H., Armston, J., Luthcke, S., Hofton, M., & Blair, J. (2021). GEDI L2B Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/GEDI/GEDI02_B.002 Date Accessed: 2026-05-01
Dubayah, Ralph, Hao Tang, John Armston, Scott Luthcke, Michelle Hofton, and James Blair. “GEDI L2B Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002.” NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021. doi:10.5067/GEDI/GEDI02_B.002. Date Accessed: 2026-05-01
Dubayah, Ralph, et al. GEDI L2B Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021, doi:10.5067/GEDI/GEDI02_B.002. Date Accessed: 2026-05-01
The file name begins with the Product Short Name (GEDI02_B), followed by the Julian Date and Time of Acquisition designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2024333221021), the Orbit Number starting with the letter O (O33779), the Sub-Orbit Granule Number (03), Track Number (T07960), the Positioning and Pointing Determination System type where 00 is predict, 01 rapid, 02 and higher is final (02), the Product Generation Executables Version (004), the Granule Production Version (01), the Version Number (V002), and the Data Format (h5).
The GitHub repository, hosted by NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, provides a range of materials for using LP DAAC data and tools.
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The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this
dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements
collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on
satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and
model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band
have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the
designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR).
Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill
Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze
the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables.
Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data,
user guide, and/or other product documentation.
For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.
Buffer size (1 ns bins) used to constrain the center parameter in the exponentially modified Gaussian fit to R (ground)
ns
int32
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/rg_eg_mpfit_maxiters
MPFIT maximum number of iterations
N/A
uint16
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/rg_eg_mpfit_max_func_evals
MPFIT maximum number of function evaluations
N/A
uint16
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/rg_eg_mpfit_tolerance
MPFIT convergence criterium
N/A
float64
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/signal_search_buff
Buffer size (1 ns bins) used to extend above toploc and below botloc
ns
float64
N/A
0 to 255
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/ancillary/tx_noise_stddev_multiplier
Multiplier on the transmit waveform noise standard deviation used R (ground) estimation
N/A
float64
N/A
0 to 255
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/beam
Beam number (0-11)
counter
uint16
N/A
0 to 11
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/channel
Channel number (0-7)
counter
uint8
N/A
0 to 7
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/cover
Total canopy cover, defined as the percent of the ground covered by the vertical projection of canopy material
N/A
float32
-9999
0 to 1
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/cover_z
Cumulative canopy cover from height (z) to ground (z=0) with a vertical step size of dZ, where cover(z > z_max) = 0
N/A
float32
-9999
0 to 1
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/delta_time
Transmit time of the shot, measured in seconds from the master_time_epoch. By adding the offset contained within /BEAMXXXX/ancillary/master_time_epoch to delta_time, the time in GPS seconds relative to the GPS epoch can be computed. Equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/master_int+/BEAMXXXX/master_frac.
seconds since 2018-01-01
float64
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/fhd_normal
Foliage height diversity index calculated by vertical foliage profile normalized by total plant area index
N/A
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/degrade_flag
Non-zero values indicate the shot occured during a degraded period. A non-zero tens digit indicates degraded attitude, a non-zero ones digit indicates a degraded trajectory. 3X=ADF CHU solution unavailable (ST-2); 4X=Platform attitude; 5X=Poor solution (filter covariance large); 6X=Data outage (platform attitude gap also); 7X=ST 1+2 unavailable (similar boresight FOV); 8X=ST 1+2+3 unavailable; 9X=ST 1+2+3 and ISS unavailable; X1=Maneuver; X2=GPS data gap; X3=ST blinding; X4=Other; X5=GPS receiver clock drift; X6=X5+X1; X7=X5+X2; X8=X5+X3; X9=X5+X4.
flag
int8
N/A
0 to 99
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/delta_time
Transmit time of the shot, measured in seconds from the master_time_epoch. By adding the offset contained within /BEAMXXXX/ancillary/master_time_epoch to delta_time, the time in GPS seconds relative to the GPS epoch can be computed. Equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/master_int+/BEAMXXXX/master_frac.
seconds since 2018-01-01
float64
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/digital_elevation_model
Digital elevation model height above the WGS84 ellipsoid. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0 from the TandemX 90m product.
meters
float32
-999999
-962 to 10038
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_bin0
Elevation of first bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
m
float64
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_bin0_error
Error in elevation of first bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
m
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_lastbin
Elevation of last bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
m
float64
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elevation_lastbin_error
Error in elevation of last bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
m
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elev_highestreturn
elevation of highest detected return relative to reference ellipsoid
m
float32
N/A
-1000 to 25000
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/elev_lowestmode
elevation of center of lowest mode relative to reference ellipsoid
m
float32
N/A
-1000 to 25000
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/height_bin0
Height of the first bin of the pgap_theta_z, relative to the ground.
m
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/height_lastbin
Height of the last bin of the pgap_theta_z, relative to the ground.
m
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_bin0
Latitude of first bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float64
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_bin0_error
Error in latitude of first bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_lastbin
Latitude of last bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float64
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/latitude_lastbin_error
Error in latitude of last bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/lat_highestreturn
Latitude of highest detected return
degrees
float64
N/A
-55 to 55
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/lat_lowestmode
Latitude of center of lowest mode
degrees
float64
N/A
-55 to 55
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/local_beam_azimuth
Azimuth of the unit pointing vector for the laser in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from North and positive towards East.
radians
float32
N/A
-180 to 180
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/local_beam_elevation
Elevation of the unit pointing vector for the laser in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from East-North plane and positive towards Up.
radians
float32
N/A
1.3962633609772 to 1.5707963705063
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_bin0
Longitude of first bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float64
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_bin0_error
Error in longitude of first bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_lastbin
Longitude of last bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float64
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/longitude_lastbin_error
Error in longitude of last bin of the pgap_theta_z, interpolated from L1B waveform coordinate
degrees
float32
-9999
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/lon_highestreturn
Longitude of highest detected return
degrees
float64
N/A
-180 to 180
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/lon_lowestmode
Longitude of center of lowest mode
degrees
float64
N/A
-180 to 180
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/shot_number
Unique shot ID.
counter
uint64
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/solar_azimuth
The azimuth of the sun position vector from the laser bounce point position in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from North and is positive towards East.
degrees
float32
N/A
-180 to 180
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/solar_elevation
The elevation of the sun position vector from the laser bounce point position in the local ENU frame. The angle is measured from the East-North plane and is positive Up.
degrees
float32
N/A
-90 to 90
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/l2a_quality_flag
Flag simplifying selection of most useful data
N/A
uint8
N/A
0 to 1
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/l2b_quality_flag
Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data for Level 2B
N/A
uint8
N/A
0 to 1
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/landsat_treecover
Tree cover in the year 2010, defined as canopy closure for all vegetation taller than 5m in height (Hansen et al.). Encoded as a percentage per output grid cell.
The percent UMD GLAD Landsat observations with classified surface water between 2018 and 2019. Values > 80 usually represent permanent water, while values < 10 represent permanent land.
N/A
uint8
N/A
0 to 100
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/leaf_off_doy
GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid leaf-off start day-of-year derived from the NPP VIIRS Global Land Surface Phenology Product.
N/A
int16
32767
1 to 365
N/A
N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/leaf_off_flag
GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid flag derived from leaf_off_doy, leaf_on_doy and pft_class, indicating if the observation was recorded during leaf-off conditions in deciduous forests and woodlands. 1 = leaf-off and 0 = leaf-on.
