N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180
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Description
This data set (ATL06) provides geolocated, land-ice surface heights (above the WGS 84 ellipsoid, ITRF2014 reference frame), plus ancillary parameters that can be used to interpret and assess the quality of the height estimates. 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
The Arctic and Antarctic DEMs were changed to utilize sources that have more recent and accurate data and better coverage; The num_tx_pulses calculation was changed to estimate an expected number of pulses that is not an integer. As such, the input used to calculate num_tx_pulses was changed to a floating point value (the output of the unified pulse count estimation); A single algorithm was implemented to estimate the number of pulses within a specified distance, and this single routine was integrated into the rest of the land ice height development code; Equilibrium tide values from ATL03 have been added to the geophysical group.
Product Summary
Platforms
Instruments
Spatial Extent
Spatial Resolution
20 Meters
Spatial Reference System(s)
WGS 84 (EPSG:4326)
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
ORBIT
Temporal Extent
2018-10-14 to 2019-11-15
Temporal Resolution
91 Day
Concept ID
C4102389881-NSIDC_CPRD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
0
Processing Level
3
Published
Science Keywords
Glacier Elevation/Ice Sheet 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.
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Smith, B., Fricker, H., Gardner, A., Siegfried, M., Adusumilli, S., Csath??, B., Holschuh, N., Nilsson, J., Paolo, F., & the ICESat-2 Science Team. (2019). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land Ice Height, Version 2 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL06.002 Date Accessed: 2026-06-17
Smith, B., Fricker, H., Gardner, A., Siegfried, M., Adusumilli, S., Csath??, B., Holschuh, N., Nilsson, J., Paolo, F., & the ICESat-2 Science Team. (2019). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land Ice Height, Version 2 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL06.002 Date Accessed: 2026-06-17
Smith, Ben, et al. “ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land Ice Height, Version 2.” NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center, 2019, https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL06.002. Date Accessed: 2026-06-17
TABLE OF CONTENTS