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Description
This data set (ATL03) contains height above the WGS 84 ellipsoid (ITRF2014 reference frame), latitude, longitude, and time for all photons downlinked by the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on board the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) observatory. The ATL03 product was designed to be a single source for all photon data and ancillary information needed by higher-level ATLAS/ICESat-2 products. As such, it also includes spacecraft and instrument parameters and ancillary data not explicitly required for ATL03.
Version Description
Changes for this version include:
Updated photon heights to include time-dependent range bias. The mean offset between ATL03 version 4 and version 5 photon heights is on the order of 1.2 cm. See more details in the user guide and/or ATBD for this data product.
Added XML metadata to indicate the percentage of each surface type within a granule.
Updated podppd_flag to include identification of ATLAS calibration periods.
Updated the default uncertainty values to represent the current best estimates.
Improved the TEP flagging.
Implemented some bug fixes including updates in the photon selection algorithm, calculation of the neutral atmosphere delay derivative and quality_ph flagging improvements.
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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Neumann, T., Brenner, A., Hancock, D., Robbins, J., Saba, J., Harbeck, K., Gibbons, A., Lee, J., Luthcke, S., Rebold, T., & et al. (2021). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 5 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.005 Date Accessed: 2026-09-12
@misc{neumann_brenner_hancock_robbins_saba_harbeck_gibbons_lee_luthcke_rebold_et al._2021,
title={ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 5},
url={http://nsidc.org/data/ATL03/versions/5},
DOI={10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.005},
publisher={NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center},
author={Neumann, Thomas and Brenner, Anita and Hancock, David and Robbins, John and Saba, Jack and Harbeck, Kaitlin and Gibbons, Aim??e and Lee, Jeff and Luthcke, Scott and Rebold, Timothy and et al},
year={2021},
}
Neumann, T., Brenner, A., Hancock, D., Robbins, J., Saba, J., Harbeck, K., Gibbons, A., Lee, J., Luthcke, S., Rebold, T., & et al. (2021). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 5 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.005 Date Accessed: 2026-09-12
Neumann, Thomas, et al. “ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 5.” NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center, 2021, https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.005. Date Accessed: 2026-09-12
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