The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) flew aboard the Ice, Clouds, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) spacecraft and provided elevation data for determining ice sheet mass balance, with polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. It also provided global topography and vegetation data as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar regions.
Delivery of new Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite observations will cease on November 2, 2026. Data users should transition now to alternative products from NOAA-21 and NOAA-20.
Suomi NPP data announcement