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Description

This data set (ATL08) contains along-track heights above the WGS84 ellipsoid (ITRF2014 reference frame) for the ground and canopy surfaces. The canopy and ground surfaces are processed in fixed 100 m data segments, which typically contain more than 100 signal photons. 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 two flags, gt[x]/land_segments/terrain/subset_te_flag and gt[x]/land_segments/canopy/subset_can_flag to indicate 100 m segments that are populated by less than 100 m worth of data; Improved ground finding, in particular for instances where the canopy/vegetation density is relatively high. This improvement results in more accurate relative canopy heights.

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
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
ORBIT
Temporal Extent
2018-10-14 to 2020-11-11
Temporal Resolution
91 Day
Concept ID
C2034204657-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Science Keywords
Terrain Elevation ,
Vegetation Height

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

Neuenschwander, A., Pitts, K., Jelley, B., Robbins, J., Klotz, B., Popescu, S., Nelson, R., Harding, D., Pederson, D., & Sheridan, R. (2020). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land and Vegetation Height, Version 3 [Data set]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL08.003 Date Accessed: 2026-06-17

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
3D-LAKES: Three-Dimensional Global Lake and Reservoir Bathymetry from ICESat-2 Altimetry and Landsat Imagery Huang, Chi Hsiang, Zhang, Shuai, Shah, Deep, Yadav, Anshul, Li, Yao, Zhao, Gang, Gao, Huilin Lakes/Reservoirs, Land Use/Land Cover, Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Deriving Intertidal Topography From SWOT Data and Sentinel2 Data Sun, Mingzhi, Feng, Wei, Wang, Xudong, Xu, Nan, Peng, Fukai, Chen, Xiaodong, An, Dechao, Fenoglio, Luciana, Yang, Meng, Zhong, Min Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
ICESat-2 derived canopy covers with radiometric and reflectance ratio corrections Zhang, Qianyin, Zhou, Hui, Ma, Yue, Wang, Hong, Li, Song, Chen, Yuwei Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
ICESat-2 noise filtering using a point cloud neural network Velikova, Mariya, Fernandez-Diaz, Juan, Glennie, Craig Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Improving global digital elevation models using space-borne GEDI and ICESat-2 LiDAR altimetry data Narin, Omer Gokberk, Abdikan, Saygin, Gullu, Mevlut, Lindenbergh, Roderik, Balik Sanli, Fusun, Yilmaz, Ibrahim Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Terrain Elevation
A comparison of vertical accuracy of global DEMs and DEMs produced by GEDI, ICESat-2 Narin, Omer Gokberk, Gullu, Mevlut Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering Cobb, Alexander R., Dommain, Rene, Sukri, Rahayu S., Metali, Faizah, Bookhagen, Bodo, Harvey, Charles F., Tang, Hao Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Konduri, Venkata Shashank, Morton, Douglas C., Andela, Niels Fire Ecology, Biomass Burning, Wildfires, Fire Occurrence, Burned Area, Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Aboveground biomass mapping by integrating ICESat-2, SENTINEL-1, SENTINEL-2, ALOS2/PALSAR2, and topographic information in Mediterranean forests Guerra-Hernandez, Juan, Narine, Lana L., Pascual, Adrian, Gonzalez-Ferreiro, Eduardo, Botequim, Brigite, Malambo, Lonesome, Neuenschwander, Amy, Popescu, Sorin C., Godinho, Sergio Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), VIEWING GEOMETRY, Terrain Elevation
Carbon loss from a deforested and drained tropical peatland over four years as assessed from peat stratigraphy Anshari, Gusti Z., Gusmayanti, Evi, Afifudin, M., Ruwaimana, Monika, Hendricks, Lauren, Gavin, Daniel G. Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Investigation of ICESat-2 Data Capabilities for Forest-Height Estimation over Russia Bartalev, S. A., Bogodukhov, M. A., Zharko, V. O., Sidorenkov, V. M. Canopy Characteristics, Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Evaluating ICESat-2 for monitoring, modeling, and update of large area forest canopy height products Mulverhill, Christopher, Coops, Nicholas C., Hermosilla, Txomin, White, Joanne C., Wulder, Michael A. Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Deriving Tidal Flat Topography Using ICESat2 Laser Altimetry and Sentinel2 Imagery Xu, Nan, Ma, Yue, Yang, Jian, Wang, Xiao Hua, Wang, Yongjun, Xu, Rui Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Global evaluation of the Ecosystem Demography model (ED v3. 0) Ma, Lei, Hurtt, George, Ott, Lesley, Sahajpal, Ritvik, Fisk, Justin, Lamb, Rachel, Tang, Hao, Flanagan, Steve, Chini, Louise, Chatterjee, Abhishek, Sullivan, Joseph Leaf Characteristics, Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction Of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fapar), Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM), VIEWING GEOMETRY, Terrain Elevation, Carbon, Cation Exchange Capacity, Organic Matter, Carbonaceous Aerosols, Nitrogen Oxides, Particulates, Hydrogen Cyanide, Emissions, Non-methane Hydrocarbons/Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter, Fire Occurrence, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon And Hydrocarbon Compounds
The push and pull of abandoned channels: how floodplain processes and healing affect avulsion dynamics and alluvial landscape evolution in foreland ... Martin, Harrison K., Edmonds, Douglas A. Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Calculation of Deflection of Vertical and Gravity Anomalies Over the South China Sea Derived from ICESat-2 Data Che, Defu, Li, Hang, Zhang, Shengjun, Ma, Baodong Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height, Sea Surface Height
Land deformation and sinkhole occurrence in response to the fluctuations of groundwater storage: an integrated assessment of GRACE gravity measurements, ICESat ... Khorrami, Behnam, Arik, Fetullah, Gunduz, Orhan Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height, Reflectance
Human alteration of global surface water storage variability Cooley, Sarah W., Ryan, Jonathan C., Smith, Laurence C. Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Comparing airborne and spaceborne photon-counting LiDAR canopy structural estimates across different boreal forest types Queinnec, Martin, White, Joanne C., Coops, Nicholas C. Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Performance evaluation of GEDI and ICESat-2 laser altimeter data for terrain and canopy height retrievals Liu, Aobo, Cheng, Xiao, Chen, Zhuoqi Plant Phenology, Canopy Characteristics, Vegetation Cover, Lidar, Topography, Vegetation Height, Terrain Elevation
Modelling lidar-derived estimates of forest attributes over space and time: A review of approaches and future trends Coops, Nicholas C., Tompalski, Piotr, Goodbody, Tristan R.H., Queinnec, Martin, Luther, Joan E., Bolton, Douglas K., White, Joanne C., Wulder, Michael A., van Lier, Oliver R., Hermosilla, Txomin Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Signal Photon Extraction Method for Weak Beam Data of ICESat-2 Using Zhang, Zhiyu, Liu, Xinyuan, Ma, Yue, Xu, Nan, Zhang, Wenhao, Li, Song Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
Validation of ICESat-2 terrain and canopy heights in boreal forests Neuenschwander, Amy, Guenther, Eric, White, Joanne C., Duncanson, Laura, Montesano, Paul Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height
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