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Description

This data set (ATL14) and ATL15 bring the time-varying height estimates provided in ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3B Annual Land Ice Height (ATL11) into a gridded format. ATL14 is a high-resolution (100 m) digital elevation model (DEM) that provides spatially continuous gridded data of ice sheet surface height. The data can be used to initialize ice sheet models, as boundary conditions for atmospheric models, or to help with the reduction of other satellite data such as optical imagery or synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

ATL15 provides coarser resolution (1 km, 10 km, 20 km, and 40 km) height-change maps at 3-month intervals, allowing for visualization of height-change patterns and calculation of integrated regional volume change.

Version Description

The changes from Versions 1 to 2 include the following:
  • Extend temporal coverage through cycle 14
  • Include one independent bias parameter for each RGT, cycle, and beam pair in the bias model
  • In all regions except Antarctica, use minimum error estimate for every unique crossover
  • Apply a time-variable ice mask, as reflected in the ice_area variable
  • Achieve tile-to-tile matching using linear constraint at tile edges
  • Decrease computation tile size to 61x61 km, and compute tiles in two stages instead of three

Product Summary

Platforms
ICESat-2
Instruments
ATLAS
Spatial Extent

N: 90 S: 59 E: 180 W: -180

,

N: -60 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
1 Kilometers x 1 Kilometers
10 Kilometers x 10 Kilometers
20 Kilometers x 20 Kilometers
40 Kilometers x 40 Kilometers
Spatial Reference System(s)
Multiple EPSG codes (see User Guide)
Location
POLAR
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2019-03-29 to 2022-03-23
Temporal Resolution
3 Month
Concept ID
C2531267510-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.

Copy Citation

Smith, B., Sutterley, T., Dickinson, S., Jelley, B., Felikson, D., Neumann, T., Fricker, H., Gardner, A., Padman, L., Markus, T., Kurtz, N., Bhardwaj, S., Hancock, D., & Lee, J. (2022). ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3B Gridded Antarctic and Arctic Land Ice Height Change, Version 2 [Dataset]. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL15.002 Date Accessed: 2026-06-18

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