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Description

The data set (ATL07) contains along-track heights for sea ice and open water leads (at varying length scales) relative to the WGS84 ellipsoid (ITRF2014 reference frame) after adjustment for geoidal and tidal variations, and inverted barometer effects. Height statistics and apparent reflectance are also provided. The data were acquired by the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on board the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) observatory.

Version Description

Added additional sea ice browse images to allow for better qualitative assessment of the product; Fixed a bug related to temporal/geographic bounds that placed ATL07 granules in the wrong hemisphere on Earthdata Search; Sea ice processing now limited to medium and high confidence photons when determining if a photon return is specular. This addresses overlap in the land ice and sea ice masks and issues with over-counting photons prior to calculating specular returns; The Version 3 algorithm was updated to account for the additional photons in the larger land ice telemetry window in regions where the land and sea ice masks overlap. This improves coverage around coastal Antarctica and the Arctic coast—in particular around Arctic shelves and Canadian Arctic Archipelago passages; Removed TEP photons from consideration for sea ice processing.

Product Summary

Platforms
ICESat-2
Instruments
ATLAS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Reference System(s)
WGS 84 (EPSG:4326)
Location
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ,
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
ORBIT
Temporal Extent
2018-10-14 to 2020-11-11
Temporal Resolution
91 Day
Concept ID
C4112411371-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Science Keywords
Sea Ice Elevation

Citation

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.

Copy Citation

Kwok, R., Cunningham, G., Markus, T., Hancock, D., Morison, J., Palm, S., Farrell, S., Ivanoff, A., Wimert, J., & the ICESat-2 Science Team. (2020). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Height, Version 3 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL07.003 Date Accessed: 2026-09-14

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Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
A method for constructing directional surface wave spectra from ICESat-2 altimetry Hell, Momme C., Horvat, Christopher Terrain Elevation, Sea Ice Elevation
The role of oceanic heat flux in reducing thermodynamic ice growth in Kirillov, Sergei, Dmitrenko, Igor, Babb, David G., Ehn, Jens K., Koldunov, Nikolay, Rysgaard, Sren, Jensen, David, Barber, David G. Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, Sea Ice Motion, Snow Depth, Snow Water Equivalent, Sea Ice Elevation
On the Intermittent Formation of an Ice Bridge (Nunniq) across Roes Welcome Sound, Northwestern Hudson Bay, and Its Use to Local Inuit Hunters Babb, David G., Kirillov, Sergei, Kuzyk, Zou Zou A., Netser, Troy, Liesch, Jasmine, Kamula, C. Michelle, Zagon, Tom, Barber, David G., Ehn, Jens K. Sea Ice Elevation
Deriving Antarctic SeaIce Thickness From Satellite Altimetry and Estimating Consistency for NASA's ICESat/ICESat2 Missions Xu, Yue, Li, Huan, Liu, Baojian, Xie, Hongjie, OzsoyCicek, Burcu Ice Roughness, Ice Roughness, Reflectance, Sea Ice Elevation, Sea Ice Elevation, Freeboard
Continuous Estimates of Glacier Mass Balance in High Mountain Asia Based Wang, Qiuyu, Yi, Shuang, Sun, Wenke Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation, Sea Ice Elevation
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