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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
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_algrunflag Flag indicating signal was detected and algorithm ran successfully N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_cumulative Waveform bin numbers of integer percents of integrated energy from cumulative waveform (botloc (0%) to toploc (100%)) ns float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_iwaveamps Fraction of integrated waveform at location of each detected mode counts float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modeamps Amplitudes of each detected mode within waveform counts float32 N/A -100 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modeenergytobotloc Total energy from the center of each detected waveform mode to botloc counts float32 N/A -1000 to 1000000 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modelocalenergy Energy between +- 8 samples of each detected mode, mean noise level removed counts float32 N/A -1000 to 1000000 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modelocalenergyabovemean Energy between +- 8 samples of each detected mode counts float32 N/A -1000 to 1000000 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modelocalslope Signal trend within +- 8 samples of each detected mode counts float32 N/A -100 to 100 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modelocs Sample numbers of each detected mode (relative to bin 0 of waveform) ns float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_modewidths 1 sigma width estimates of each detected mode in waveform ns float32 N/A 0 to 700 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/rx_nummodes Number of modes detected in waveform ns uint8 N/A 0 to 20 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/sd_sm Noise standard deviation of the smoothed waveform counts float32 N/A 0 to 100 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/search_end Sample number indicating end of signal search ns float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/search_start Sample number indicating start of signal search ns float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/selected_mode ID of mode selected as lowest non-noise mode N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 20 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/selected_mode_flag Flag indicating status of selected_mode N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 4 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/shot_number Shot number N/A uint64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/smoothwidth width of gaussian function used to smooth noise sections of waveforms ns float32 N/A 0 to 20 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/smoothwidth_zcross width of gaussian function used to smooth waveform between botloc and toploc ns float32 N/A 0 to 20 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/stddev noise standdard deviation used in algorithm countd float32 N/A 0 to 4096 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/toploc Sample number of highest detected return counts float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/toploc_miss Flag indicating algorithm didn't detect valid toploc value N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/zcross Sample number of center of lowest mode above noise level ns float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/zcross0 location of center of highest mode above noise level relative to bin0 of waveform ns float32 N/A 0 to 1420 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/zcross_amp amplitude of smoothed waveform at lowest detected mode counts float32 N/A 0 to 4096 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing_a6/zcross_localenergy energy of last mode above local slope counts float32 N/A -100 to 10000 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/selected_algorithm ID of algorithm selected as identifying the lowest non-noise mode N/A uint8 N/A 1 to 6 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/selected_mode ID of mode selected as lowest non-noise mode N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 20 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/selected_mode_flag Flag indicating status of selected_mode N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 4 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/sensitivity Maxmimum canopy cover that can be penetrated considering the SNR of the waveform N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/shot_number Shot number N/A uint64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/solar_azimuth Solar azimuth N/A float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/solar_elevation Solar elevation N/A float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/surface_flag Indicates elev_lowestmode is within 300m of DEM or MSS N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
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