N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Description
ATL03 contains height above the WGS 84 ellipsoid, latitude, longitude, and time for each photon downlinked by the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on board ICESat-2. This product was designed to be a single source for all photon data and ancillary information needed by higher-level ATLAS/ICESat-2 products.
Version Description
This version improved TOF, range calibrations, and range bias correction (average change in range is ~ -0.7 mm); Added a variable (max_valid_stren_strong) to the first photon bias and radiometric correction tables to reflect invalid correction values due to unreliable calibration values; Changed to ITRF2020, resulting in a 7 mm regional height change with maximum values at poles; ANC03/04 products generated from POD solutions use updated global modeling; Correction to the center-of-mass data set generation in ANC04, which should shift the z-component by ~1.0–1.2 cm during airplane mode periods; ANC05 products were calibrated using results from recent full mission week calibration solutions; Used GEOS5-IT for atmosphere delay calculation from NASA GMAO; Updated tide model to an extrapolated FES2014b for ocean, load and long-period tides; Parameters affected in /gtx/geophys_corr include tide_ocean, tide_load, and tide_equilibrium; Updated weight_ph to use DDA-03’s Radial Basis Function Normalized for Instrument Characteristics; Added signal_class_ph as experimental DDA-03 parameter to classify photons using algorithms developed for evaluating weight_ph; Updated quality_ph to include flag values to identify noise bursts and streaks, and all photons in a pulse that are considered nearly or fully saturated and whether the return occurs at the surface, after pulse, impulse response; Added beta_angle and orbit_angle at geoseg rate, carried forward from ATL03g; Cloud optimization of H5 files for more efficient access/use in cloud environments.
Product Summary
Platforms
Instruments
Spatial Extent
Spatial Resolution
0.7 Meters x 0.7 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
WGS 84 (EPSG:4326)
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2018-10-13 to Present
Temporal Resolution
91 Day
Concept ID
C3326974349-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
570235
Processing Level
2A
Published
Science Keywords
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.
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Neumann, T., Hancock, D., Robbins, J., Gibbons, A., Lee, J., Brenner, A., Felikson, D., Harbeck, K., Saba, J., Luthcke, S., Rebold, T., Reese, A., & Sutterly, T. (2025). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 7 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.007 Date Accessed: 2026-09-11
@misc{neumann_hancock_robbins_gibbons_lee_brenner_felikson_harbeck_saba_luthcke_et al._2025,
title={ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 7},
url={http://nsidc.org/data/ATL03/versions/7},
DOI={10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.007},
publisher={NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center},
author={Neumann, Thomas and Hancock, David and Robbins, John and Gibbons, Aim??e and Lee, Jeff and Brenner, Anita and Felikson, Denis and Harbeck, Kaitlin and Saba, Jack and Luthcke, Scott and Rebold, Timothy and Reese, Ann and Sutterly, Tyler},
year={2025},
}
Neumann, T., Hancock, D., Robbins, J., Gibbons, A., Lee, J., Brenner, A., Felikson, D., Harbeck, K., Saba, J., Luthcke, S., Rebold, T., Reese, A., & Sutterly, T. (2025). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 7 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.007 Date Accessed: 2026-09-11
Neumann, Thomas, et al. “ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 7.” NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.007. Date Accessed: 2026-09-11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Documents
ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)
DATA PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
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Publications Citing This Dataset
Filters
| Title | Year Sort ascending | Author | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Framework for Characterizing 3-D Structures of Crevasses and Rifts | Pang, Ao, Liang, Qi, Hulbe, Christina, Yang, Tian, Zhou, Quan, Forbes, Martin, Cheng, Xiao | Grounding Line, Ice Velocity, Terrain Elevation | |
| ICESat-2 Photon-Counting Lidar for 3D Ocean Observation: A Comprehensive Review of Algorithms, Applications, and Synergistic Opportunities | CHEN, Peng, Zhang, Zhenhua, Zhang, Siqi, Pan, Delu | Coastal Bathymetry, Sea Surface Height, Terrain Elevation, Cloud Properties, Lidar Backscatter | |
| Optimization of automated sea-ice melt-pond depth determination in ICESat-2 altimeter data with the Density-Dimension Algorithm for bifurcating sea-ice reflectors using airborne campaign data | Trantow, Thomas, Herzfeld, Ute C., Vanderwilt, Mia, Saylam, Kutalmis, Kurtz, Nathan, Han, Huilin, Tilling, Rachel | Terrain Elevation, Lidar Backscatter, Melt Pond | |
| Impacts of Temperature and StressDependent Rheology on IceShelfFront Bending | Glazer, Emily C., Buck, W. Roger | Terrain Elevation, Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation | |
| Active and passive co-observations from a spaceborne lidar: Retrieving | Yang, Jian, Zheng, Huiying, Ma, Yue, Liu, Xinyuan, Li, Song, Wang, Xiao Hua, Gong, Wei | Terrain Elevation, Lidar Backscatter | |
| Dual-pixel collaboration scheme for enhanced physics-based bathymetry from single multispectral imagery | Lei, Cong, Deng, Ruru, Liu, Rong | Terrain Elevation | |
| Integrating ICESat-2 LiDAR Data and Sentinel-2 Imagery for Nearshore Bathymetry Mapping Using Machine Learning: A Case Study of Ly Son Island | Nguyen, Phuong Bac, Ha, Minh Cuong, Nguyen, Thi Minh Hanh, Vuong, Sy Tu Anh, Nguyen, Ngoc Bich Han, Pham, Thi Minh Nghia, Vu, Phuong Lan | Terrain Elevation | |
| Binary-Coding-Based Denoising Algorithm Preparing for Spaceborne Photon-Counting Lidar With Tens to Hundreds of Beams | Ma, Yue, Xu, Jingyi, Liu, Xinyuan, Yu, Wenbo, Shao, Xin, Yang, Jian | Terrain Elevation | |
| Quantitative Assessment of Cloud-Penetration Capability for Spaceborne Photon-Counting Lidar in Surface Observations | Liu, Xinyuan, Zheng, Huiying, Zhang, Zhiyu, Yang, Jian, Zhao, Pufan, Li, Song, Ma, Yue, Wu, Songhua | Lidar Backscatter, Terrain Elevation | |
| Anatomy of a foreseeable disaster: Lessons from the 2023 dam-breaching flood in Derna, Libya | Armon, Moshe, Shmilovitz, Yuval, Dente, Elad | Reforestation, Terrestrial Ecosystems, Permafrost, Rock Glaciers, Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation, Glacier Motion/Ice Sheet Motion, Glacier Thickness/Ice Sheet Thickness, Glacier Topography/Ice Sheet Topography, Glaciers, Ice Sheets, Icebergs, Ice Deformation, Ice Depth/Thickness, Ice Edges, Ice Extent, Ice Floes, Ice Growth/Melt, Ice Roughness, Ice Temperature, Ice Types, Icebergs, Leads, Pack Ice, Polynyas, Reflectance, Sea Ice Motion, Ice Extent, Ice Growth/Melt, Ice Motion, Ice Velocity, Lake Ice, Permafrost, River Ice, Snow Cover, Landslides, Aeolian Landforms, Coastal Landforms, Fluvial Landforms, Glacial Landforms, Karst Landforms, Tectonic Landforms, Land Use/Land Cover Classification, Landscape Ecology, Landscape Patterns, Landscape Processes, Reforestation, Surface Roughness, Terrain Elevation, Topographic Effects, Barrier Islands, Beaches, Deltas, Dunes, Estuaries, Fjords, Inlets, Lagoons, Mangroves, Marshes, Rocky Coasts, Shorelines, Wind Waves, Surface Winds, Ice Deformation, Ice Depth/Thickness, Ice Edges, Ice Extent, Ice Floes, Ice Roughness, Ice Types, Icebergs, Leads, Pack Ice, Polynyas, Sea Ice Motion, Glacial Landforms, Caldera, Cinder Cone, Faults, Folds, Geyser, Graben, Horst, Lava Dome, Lava Plain, Maar, Mountains, Plateau, Ridge, Rift Valley, Tuya, Volcano, Tectonic Landforms, Earthquakes, Plate Tectonics, Volcanic Activity, Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation, Glacier Motion/Ice Sheet Motion, Glacier Topography/Ice Sheet Topography, Glaciers, Ice Sheets, Icebergs, Ice Extent, Ice Growth/Melt, Ice Motion, Ice Velocity, Lake Ice, Permafrost, River Ice | |
| Recent Variability in Fracture Characteristics and Ice Flow of Thwaites | Wang, Shujie, Alexander, Patrick M., Alley, Richard B., Huang, Zhengrui, Parizek, Byron R., Willet, Amanda G., Anandakrishnan, Sridhar | Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation, Glacier Thickness/Ice Sheet Thickness, Terrain Elevation, Grounding Line, Freeboard, RADAR IMAGERY, Sea Ice Elevation, Sea Ice Elevation, Bathymetry, Bed Elevation, Firn Air Content, Glacier/Ice Sheet Thickness | |
| Examining the Derived Sea Wave Heights From ICESat-2 Weak Beams: A Case Study in Marginal Seas | Zhou, Zhibiao, Yang, Jian, Ma, Yue, Liu, Qi, Song, Yue, Li, Song | Sea Surface Height, Terrain Elevation | |
| Modeling the Estimation Uncertainty of Terrain Matching Methods for Spaceborne Laser Altimetry Data | Ma, Yue, Zhang, Biyi, Zhao, Pufan, Zhou, Hui, Li, Song, Jiang, Weiping | Terrain Elevation, Vegetation Height | |
| Multiple modes of shoreline change along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea observed using ICESat-2 altimetry and satellite imagery | Bryant, Marnie B., Borsa, Adrian A., Anderson, Eric J., Masteller, Claire C., Michaelides, Roger J., Siegfried, Matthew R., Young, Adam P. | Terrain Elevation, Surface Water Processes/Measurements, Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet Elevation | |
| Airborne Lidar to Verify ICESat-2 Arctic Summer Sea Ice Heights and Melt | Saylam, Kutalmis, Averett, Aaron R., Andrews, John R., Short, Shelby R., Kurtz, Nathan T., Tilling, Rachel L. | Terrain Elevation | |
| An Attention-GraphSAGE Algorithm for Marine Gravity Anomaly Inversion | Yin, Gaoying, Liu, Xin, Bian, Shaofeng, Jia, Yongjun, Li, Hui, Huang, Ziqian, Guo, Jinyun | Terrain Elevation, Sea Surface Height | |
| An automated method for estimating the depth of melt ponds using ICESat-2 LiDAR point cloud data: application to surface melt of Arctic sea ice | Shen, Xiaoyi, Li, Haili, Ke, Chang-Qing | Terrain Elevation | |
| A large-scale estimation method for beach slopes using ICESat-2 | Xu, Nan, Xu, Hao, Li, Wenyu, Lu, Hui, Song, Yongze, Yao, Jiaqi, Ma, Yue, Ren, He, He, Tingting, Mo, Fan, Gong, Peng | Terrain Elevation | |
| A Method for Estimating Terrain Slope and Aspect by Integrating Multi-Input Information From Spaceborne Photon-Counting Lidar | Xu, Jingyi, Liu, Xinyuan, Zhang, Zhiyu, Shao, Xin, Ma, Yue | Terrain Elevation | |
| Spatio-temporal snow data assimilation with the ICESat-2 laser altimeter | Mazzolini, Marco, Aalstad, Kristoffer, Alonso-Gonzalez, Esteban, Westermann, Sebastian, Treichler, Desiree | Terrain Elevation | |
| Grounded ridge detection and characterization along the Alaska Arctic coastline using ICESat-2 surface height retrievals | Lange, Kennedy A., Bradley, Alice C., Duncan, Kyle, Farrell, Sinead L. | Terrain Elevation | |
| HHU24SWDSCS: a shallow-water depth model over island areas in the South China Sea retrieved from satellite-derived bathymetry | Wu, Yihao, Shi, Hongkai, Jia, Dongzhen, Andersen, Ole Baltazar, He, Xiufeng, Luo, Zhicai, Li, Yu, Chen, Shiyuan, Si, Xiaohuan, Diao, Sisu, Shi, Yihuang, Chen, Yanglin | Terrain Elevation | |
| Enhanced sea ice classification for ICESat-2 using combined unsupervised | Liu, Wenxuan, Tsamados, Michel, Petty, Alek, Jin, Taoyong, Chen, Weibin, Stroeve, Julienne | Sea Ice Concentration, Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Elevation, Ice Extent, Ice Temperature, Terrain Elevation | |
| Detection of Submerged Targets Beyond Eyes' Observation Using Satellite | Liu, Hao, Yang, Jian, Ma, Yue, Li, Yao, Wang, Xiao Hua | Terrain Elevation | |
| Consistency analysis of water diffuse attenuation between ICESat-2 and | Zhang, Zhenhua, Zhang, Siqi, Behrenfeld, Michael J., Jamet, Cedric, Di Girolamo, Paolo, Dionisi, Davide, Hu, Yongxiang, Lu, Xiaomei, Pan, Yuliang, Luo, Minzhe, Huang, Haiqing, Pan, Delu, Chen, Peng | Terrain Elevation |