Skip to main content

Description

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 (ISS) and collects data globally between 51.6° N and 51.6° S latitudes at the highest resolution and densest sampling of any light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument in orbit to date. Each GEDI Version 2 granule encompasses one-fourth of an ISS orbit and includes georeferenced metadata to allow for spatial querying and subsetting.

The GEDI instrument was removed from the ISS and placed into storage on March 17, 2023. No data were acquired during the hibernation period from March 17, 2023, to April 24, 2024. GEDI has since been reinstalled on the ISS and resumed operations as of April 26, 2024.

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 GEDI02_A product is provided in HDF5 format and has a spatial resolution (average footprint) of 25 meters.

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

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).
  • Incorrect Reference Ground Track (RGT) number in the filename for select GEDI files: GEDI Science Data Products for six orbits on August 7, 2020, and November 12, 2021, had the incorrect RGT number in the filename. There is no impact to the science data, but users should reference this document for the correct RGT numbers.
  • Known Issues: Section 8 of the User Guide provides additional information on known issues.

Version Description

The following changes and improvements were implemented for GEDI Version 2 data products: (1) Reduced granule size from one full ISS orbit (~7.99 GB) to four segments per orbit (~2.00 GB), (2) Modified file name to include segment number and dataset version, (3) Improved geolocation for orbital segments, (4) Added elevation from the SRTM digital elevation model for comparison, (5) Modified the method to predict an optimum algorithm setting group per laser shot, (6) Added additional land cover datasets related to phenology, urban infrastructure, and water persistence, (7) Added selected_mode_flag dataset to root beam group using selected algorithm, and (8) Removed shots when the laser is not firing.

Product Summary

Platforms
ISS
Instruments
GEDI
Spatial Extent

N: 54 S: -54 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
25 Meters x 25 Meters
Location
GLOBAL LAND
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2019-04-04 to 2023-03-16 ,
2024-04-26 to Present
Temporal Resolution
Varies
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/GEDI)
Concept ID
C2142771958-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
89664
Processing Level
2A
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Plant Phenology ,
Canopy Characteristics ,
Vegetation Cover ,
Lidar ,
Topography ,
VEGETATION HEIGHT

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

Dubayah, R., Hofton, M., Blair, J., Armston, J., Tang, H., & Luthcke, S. (2021). GEDI L2A Elevation and Height Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/GEDI/GEDI02_A.002 Date Accessed: 2026-03-26

File Naming Convention

GEDI02_A_2024333190440_O33777_03_T03689_02_004_02_V002.h5

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (GEDI02_A), followed by the Julian Date and Time of Acquisition designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2024333190440), the Orbit Number starting with the letter O (O33777), the Sub-Orbit Granule Number (03), Track Number (T03689), the Positioning and Pointing Determination System type where 00 is predict, 01 rapid, 02 and higher is final (02), the Product Generation Executables Version (004), the Granule Production Version (02), the Version Number (V002), and the Data Format (h5).

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
/BEAM0000/geolocation/quality_flag_a2 Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/quality_flag_a3 Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/quality_flag_a4 Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/quality_flag_a5 Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/quality_flag_a6 Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/rh_a1 Relative height metrics at 1 % intervals using algorithm N (in cm) cm int16 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/rh_a2 Relative height metrics at 1 % intervals using algorithm N (in cm) cm int16 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/rh_a3 Relative height metrics at 1 % intervals using algorithm N (in cm) cm int16 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/rh_a4 Relative height metrics at 1 % intervals using algorithm N (in cm) cm int16 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/rh_a5 Relative height metrics at 1 % intervals using algorithm N (in cm) cm int16 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/rh_a6 Relative height metrics at 1 % intervals using algorithm N (in cm) cm int16 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/sensitivity_a1 Maxmimum canopy cover, using algorithmN, that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/sensitivity_a2 Maxmimum canopy cover, using algorithmN, that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/sensitivity_a3 Maxmimum canopy cover, using algorithmN, that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/sensitivity_a4 Maxmimum canopy cover, using algorithmN, that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/sensitivity_a5 Maxmimum canopy cover, using algorithmN, that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/sensitivity_a6 Maxmimum canopy cover, using algorithmN, that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/shot_number Shot number N/A uint64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/geolocation/stale_return_flag Flag from digitizer indicating the real-time pulse detection algorithm did not detect a return signal above its detection threshold within the entire 10 km search window. The pulse location of the previous shot was used to select the telemetered waveform. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/landsat_treecover Tree cover in the year 2010, defined as canopy closure for all vegetation taller than 5m in height (Hansen et al.). Encoded as a percentage per output grid cell. percent float64 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/landsat_water_persistence The percent UMD GLAD Landsat observations with classified surface water between 2018 and 2019. Values > 80 usually represent permanent water, while values < 10 represent permanent land. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 100 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/leaf_off_doy GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid leaf-off start day-of-year derived from the NPP VIIRS Global Land Surface Phenology Product. N/A int16 32767 1 to 365 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/leaf_off_flag GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid flag derived from leaf_off_doy, leaf_on_doy and pft_class, indicating if the observation was recorded during leaf-off conditions in deciduous forests and woodlands. 1 = leaf-off and 0 = leaf-on. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/leaf_on_cycle Flag that indicates the vegetation growing cycle for leaf-on observations. Values are 0 (leaf-off conditions), 1 (cycle 1) or 2 (cycle 2). N/A uint8 255 1 to 2 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/leaf_on_doy GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid leaf-on start day-of-year derived from the NPP VIIRS Global Land Surface Phenology Product. N/A int16 32767 1 to 365 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/modis_nonvegetated Percent non-vegetated from MODIS data. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.006 percent float64 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/modis_nonvegetated_sd Percent non-vegetated standard deviation from MODIS data. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.006 percent float64 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/modis_treecover Percent tree cover from MODIS data. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.006 percent float64 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/modis_treecover_sd Percent tree cover standard deviation from MODIS data. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0. doi:10.5067/MODIS/MOD44B.006 percent float64 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/pft_class GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid Plant Functional Type (PFT) derived from the MODIS MCD12Q1v006 Product. Values follow the Land Cover Type 5 Classification scheme. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 11 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/region_class GEDI 1 km EASE 2.0 grid world continental regions (0: Water, 1: Europe, 2: North Asia, 5: South Asia, 3: Australasia, 4: Africa, 6: South America, 7: North America). N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 7 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/urban_focal_window_size The focal window size used to calculate urban_proportion. Values are 3 (3x3 pixel window size) or 5 (5x5 pixel window size). N/A uint8 N/A 3 to 5 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/land_cover_data/urban_proportion The percentage proportion of land area within a focal area surrounding each shot that is urban land cover. Urban land cover is derived from the DLR 12 m resolution TanDEM-X Global Urban Footprint Product. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 100 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/latitude_bin0_error Error in latitude of bin 0 degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/lat_highestreturn Latitude of highest detected return degrees float64 N/A -55 to 55 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/lat_lowestmode Latitude of center of lowest mode degrees float64 N/A -55 to 55 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/longitude_bin0_error Error on longitude_bin0. degrees float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/lon_highestreturn Longitude of highest detected return degrees float64 N/A -180 to 180 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/lon_lowestmode Longitude of center of lowest mode degrees float64 N/A -180 to 180 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/master_frac Master time, fractional part. master_int+master_frac is equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/geolocation/delta_time and /BEAMXXXX/geophys_corr/delta_time. s float64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/master_int Master time, integer part. Seconds since master_time_epoch. master_int+master_frac is equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/geolocation/delta_time and /BEAMXXXX/geophys_corr/delta_time. s uint32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/mean_sea_surface Mean sea surface height above the WGS84 ellipsoid, includes the geoid. Interpolated at latitude_bin0 and longitude_bin0 from DTU15. m float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/num_detectedmodes Number of detected modes in rxwaveform N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 20 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/quality_flag Flag simpilfying selection of most useful data N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rh Relative height metrics at 1 % interval m float32 N/A -213 to 213 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_1gaussfit/ancillary/mpfit_maxiters Maximum number of iterations allowed for fitting the Gaussian/extended Gaussian to the rxwaveform N/A int64 N/A 0 to 100 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_1gaussfit/ancillary/mpfit_max_func_evals Maximum number of function evalutions allowed for fitting the Gaussian/extended Gaussian to the rxwaveform. N/A int64 N/A 0 to 100 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_1gaussfit/ancillary/mpfit_tolerance Convergence tolerance when fitting the Gaussian/extended Gaussian to the rxwaveform. N/A float64 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_1gaussfit/ancillary/rx_constraint_gamplitude_lower Lower allowable limit for the rx Gaussian fit amplitude counts float64 N/A 0 to 4096 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_1gaussfit/ancillary/rx_constraint_gamplitude_upper Upper allowable limit for the rx Gaussian fit amplitude counts float64 N/A 0 to 4096 N/A N/A
You're viewing 150 of 4384