Goddard’s LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager (G-LiHT) mission is a portable, airborne imaging system that aims to simultaneously map the composition, structure, and function of terrestrial ecosystems. G-LiHT primarily focuses on a broad diversity of forest communities and ecoregions in North America, mapping aerial swaths over the Conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

The purpose of G-LiHT’s Metrics data product (GLMETRICS) is to provide extensive lidar height and density metrics and return statistics in more than 80 science data set layers. Included in the product are mean, standard deviation, and percentile information for ground, tree, and shrub data. Some flights also contain Canopy Height Model (CHM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) returns. The total number of metrics layers varies by flight or campaign.

GLMETRICS data are processed as a raster data product (GeoTIFF) at a 13 meter spatial resolution over locally defined areas.

Known Issues

• Science Data Layers do not currently reflect valid Fill Value, No Data Value, Valid Range, or Scaling Factor. These will be updated when more information is available.