Oak Ridge National Laboratory DAAC (ORNL DAAC)

The ORNL DAAC has released new GEDI Level 4A data available for 2022-12-22 through 2023-03-16 (GEDI mission weeks 211 through 223). GEDI L4A Footprint Level Aboveground Biomass Density, Version 2.1 The GEDI L4A data provides predictions of the aboveground biomass density (AGBD; in Mg/ha) and estimates of the uncertainty within each sampled geolocated laser footprint. The data is available through various NASA Earthdata data tools and services, including Earthdata Cloud, OpeNDAP, and Harmony. The tutorials on accessing GEDI L4A are available at: https://github.com/ornldaac/gedi_tutorials On March 17th, 2023, GEDI was temporarily moved to an [alternate location on ISS](https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/nasa-announces-pause-gedi-mission), where it will remain offline for about 18 months. In 2024, GEDI will return to its original location and resume operations on the station. The Global Ecosystems Dynamics Investigation produces high-resolution laser ranging observations of the 3D structure of the Earth. GEDI’s precise measurements of forest canopy height, canopy vertical structure, and surface elevation greatly advance our ability to characterize important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. GEDI was funded as a NASA Earth Ventures Instrument (EVI) mission. It was launched to the International Space Station in December 2018 and completed initial orbit checkout in April 2019. Additional data from the GEDI mission can be found on the ORNL DAAC's GEDI Project Page (Levels 3 and 4) and through the Land Processes DAAC's GEDI Data Catalog (Levels 1 and 2). Data Citation: Dubayah, R.O., J. Armston, J.R. Kellner, L. Duncanson, S.P. Healey, P.L. Patterson, S. Hancock, H. Tang, J. Bruening, M.A. Hofton, J.B. Blair, and S.B. Luthcke. 2022. GEDI L4A Footprint Level Aboveground Biomass Density, Version 2.1. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2056

The ORNL DAAC recently released the following Delta-X dataset by Thompson, D.R., et al. (2023): Delta-X: AVIRIS-NG BRDF-Adjusted Surface Reflectance, MRD, LA, 2021, V2 This data provides AVIRIS-NG Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and sunglint-corrected surface spectral reflectance images over the Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins of the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) of coastal Louisiana, USA. Flights were acquired during the Spring and Fall 2021 deployments of the Delta-X campaign. The imagery was acquired by the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) from 2021-03-27 to 2021-04-06 and 2021-08-18 to 2021-09-25. Reflectance data are provided as file sets for each flight line. In addition, ten files of mosaicked flight lines, by time period and over four locations (labeled Terre, Atcha, TerreEast, and Bara), are included. Files are presented as compressed (*.zip) files, containing binary ENVI image and header files. Only land pixels were corrected and mask files for the mosaic file coverage showing presence/absence of water are also included. For the Delta-X mission, these data serve to better understand rates of soil erosion, accretion, and creation in the delta system, with the goal of building better models of how river deltas will behave under relative sea level rise. In this Version 2, five compressed (*.zip) files were corrected. Please see Section 8: Dataset Revisions for additional details.  Delta-X is a 5-year NASA Earth Ventures Suborbital-3 mission to study the Mississippi River Delta in the United States, which is growing and sinking in different areas. River deltas and their wetlands are drowning as a result of sea level rise and reduced sediment inputs. The Delta-X mission will determine which parts will survive and continue to grow, and which parts will be lost. Delta-X begins with airborne and in situ data acquisition and carries through data analysis, model integration, and validation to predict the extent and spatial patterns of future deltaic land loss or gain.  Additional data from the Delta-X project can be found on the Delta-X Project page. Citation: Thompson, D.R., D.J. Jensen, J.W. Chapman, M. Simard, and E. Greenberg. 2023. Delta-X: AVIRIS-NG BRDF-Adjusted Surface Reflectance, MRD, LA, 2021, V2. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2139

The ORNL DAAC has released new GEDI Level 3 granules covering April 2019 to March 2023 (GEDI mission weeks 19 through 223). GEDI L3 Gridded Land Surface Metrics, Version 2 The GEDI L3 dataset provides gridded mean canopy height, standard deviation of canopy height, mean ground elevation, standard deviation of ground elevation, and counts of valid laser footprints per 1 km x 1 km grid cells. On March 17th, 2023, GEDI was temporarily moved to an alternate location on ISS, where it will remain offline for about 18 months. In 2024, GEDI will return to its original location and resume operations on the station. The Global Ecosystems Dynamics Investigation produces high-resolution laser ranging observations of the 3D structure of the Earth. GEDI’s precise measurements of forest canopy height, canopy vertical structure, and surface elevation greatly advance our ability to characterize important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. GEDI was funded as a NASA Earth Ventures Instrument (EVI) mission. It was launched to the International Space Station in December 2018 and completed initial orbit checkout in April 2019. Additional data from the GEDI mission can be found on the ORNL DAAC's GEDI Project Page (Levels 3 and 4) and through the Land Processes DAAC's GEDI Data Catalog (Levels 1 and 2). Citation: Dubayah, R.O., S.B. Luthcke, T.J. Sabaka, J.B. Nicholas, S. Preaux, and M.A. Hofton. 2021. GEDI L3 Gridded Land Surface Metrics, Version 2. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1952