Skip to main content

The Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS) is an airborne imaging lidar used for making topographical maps and studying the vertical structure of vegetation and ice. High-resolution cameras are co-mounted with LVIS lidars, providing geotagged image coverage across the LVIS swath. 

The lidars have an operating wavelength of 1064 nm and pulse repetition rates up to 500 Hz. LVIS has a swath width of 2 km and a horizontal resolution of 20 m at a flight altitude of 10 km.

LVIS was developed in 2010 and upgraded in 2017. It is operated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Learn More About LVIS

Instrument Type

Altimeter

Instrument Subtype

Lidar/Laser Altimeter

Specifications

Resolution

Spatial

Variable, dependent on flight altitude; 6 degree wide data swath; 25-m footprint at 10,000-m altitude 

Temporal

10 ns pulses at rates <= 500 Hz 

Platforms

G-V (Gulfstream-V)

Launch Date
1997
Temporal Extent
Sept. 1, 2016 - present
Altitude
Up to 50,000 ft

Related Data Centers/Projects

NSIDC DAAC

NASA's National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center provides data on snow and ice processes, particularly interactions among snow, ice, atmosphere, and ocean.
ORNL DAAC

NASA's Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center specializes in data and information relevant to terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecology, and environmental processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Earthdata Forum

Our online forum provides a space for users to browse thousands of FAQs about research needs, data, and data applications. You can also submit new questions for our experts to answer.

Submit Questions to Earthdata Forumand View Expert Responses

Earthdata
Forum