GEDI Version 1 data products were decommissioned on February 15, 2022. Users are advised to use the improved GEDI02_A Version 2 data product.

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission aims to characterize ecosystem structure and dynamics to enable radically improved quantification and understanding of the Earth’s carbon cycle and biodiversity. The GEDI instrument produces high resolution laser ranging observations of the 3-dimensional structure of the Earth. GEDI is attached to the International Space Station and collects data globally between 51.6 degrees N and 51.6 degrees S latitudes at the highest resolution and densest sampling of any light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument in orbit to date.

The purpose of the GEDI Level 2A Geolocated Elevation and Height Metrics product (GEDI02_A) is to provide waveform interpretation and extracted products from each GEDI01_B received waveform, including ground elevation, canopy top height, and relative height (RH) metrics. The methodology for generating the GEDI02_A product datasets is adapted from the Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS) algorithm. The GEDI01_B product is provided in HDF5 format and has a spatial resolution (average footprint) of 25 meters.

The GEDI02_A data product contains 156 variables for each of the eight beams, including ground elevation, canopy top height, relative return energy metrics (describing canopy vertical structure, for example), and many other interpreted products from the return waveforms. Additional information for the variables can be found in the GEDI Level 2A Dictionary.

Known Issues

• Known Issues: Section 7 of the User Guide provides additional information on known issues.

• Data acquisition gaps: GEDI data acquisitions were suspended on December 19, 2019 (2019 Day 353) and resumed on January 8, 2020 (2020 Day 8).