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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 2B Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics product (GEDI02_B) is to extract biophysical metrics from each GEDI waveform. These metrics are based on the directional gap probability profile derived from the L1B waveform. Metrics provided include canopy cover, Plant Area Index (PAI), Plant Area Volume Density (PAVD), and Foliage Height Diversity (FHD). The GEDI02_B product is provided in HDF5 format and has a spatial resolution (average footprint) of 25 meters.

The GEDI02_B data product contains 96 layers for each of the eight-beam ground transects (or laser footprints located on the land surface). Datasets provided include precise latitude, longitude, elevation, height, canopy cover, and vertical profile metrics. Additional information for the layers can be found in the GEDI Level 2B Data 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
C2142776747-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
89630
Processing Level
2B
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Canopy Characteristics ,
Vegetation Cover ,
Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM) ,
VIEWING GEOMETRY ,
Terrain Elevation ,
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., Tang, H., Armston, J., Luthcke, S., Hofton, M., & Blair, J. (2021). GEDI L2B Canopy Cover and Vertical Profile Metrics Data Global Footprint Level V002 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/GEDI/GEDI02_B.002 Date Accessed: 2026-03-28

File Naming Convention

GEDI02_B_2024333221021_O33779_03_T07960_02_004_01_V002.h5

The file name begins with the Product Short Name (GEDI02_B), followed by the Julian Date and Time of Acquisition designated as YYYYDDDHHMMSS (2024333221021), the Orbit Number starting with the letter O (O33779), the Sub-Orbit Granule Number (03), Track Number (T07960), 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 (01), the Version Number (V002), and the Data Format (h5).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author
Assessment of GEDI's LiDAR data for the estimation of canopy heights and wood volume of eucalyptus plantations in Brazil Fayad, I.
GEDI elevation accuracy assessment: A case study of southwest Spain Quiros, E.
Mapping global forest canopy height through integration of GEDI and Landsat data Potapov, P.
Space lidar for archaeology? Reanalyzing GEDI data for detection of ancient Maya buildings Kokalj, Z
Evolution of the representation of global vegetation by vegetation continuous fields DiMiceli, C.
Inland water level measurement from spaceborne laser altimetry: Validation and comparison of three missions over the Great Lakes and lower Mississippi River Xiang, J.
Scaled biomass estimation in woodland ecosystems: Testing the individual and combined capacities of satellite multispectral and lidar data Campbell, M. J.
Determination of structural characteristics of old‐growth forest in ukraine using spaceborne lidar Spracklen, B.
Accuracy assessment of gedi terrain elevation and canopy height estimates in European temperate forests—Influence of environmental and acquisition parameters Adam, M.
Evaluating the potential of full-waveform lidar for mapping pan-tropical tree species richness Marselis, S. M.
SHOWING 10 OF 22

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/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/master_frac Master time, fractional part. master_int+master_frac is equivalent to /BEAMXXXX/geolocation/delta_time and /BEAMXXXX/geophys_corr/delta_time. seconds 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. seconds uint32 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/omega Foliage clumping index N/A float32 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/pai Total plant area index m2/m2 float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/pai_z Vertical PAI profile from canopy height (z) to ground (z=0) with a vertical step size of dZ, where cover(z > z_max) = 0 m2/m2 float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/pavd_z Vertical Plant Area Volume Density profile with a vertical step size of dZ m2/m3 float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/pgap_theta Estimated Pgap(theta) for the selected L2A algorithm N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/pgap_theta_error Error of the estimated Pgap(theta) for the selected L2A algorithm N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/pgap_theta_z Directional gap probability profile (pgap_theta_z = DN / 10000) N/A float32 -9999 0 to 10000 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rg Integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for the selected L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rh100 Height above ground of the received waveform signal start (rh[101] from L2A) cm int16 N/A -21300 to 21300 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rhog Volumetric scattering coefficient of the ground (reflectance x phase function) counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rhog_error Error term in Rho (ground) counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rhov Volumetric scattering coefficient of the canopy (reflectance x phase function) counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rhov_error Error term in Rho (canopy) counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rossg Mean projection of unit leaf area on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the laser beam at view zenith angle theta N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rv Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for the selected L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/algorithmrun_flag_a1 For each L2A algorithm, the L2B algorithm is run if this flag is set to 1. This flag selects data which have sufficient waveform fidelity for L2B to run. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/algorithmrun_flag_a2 For each L2A algorithm, the L2B algorithm is run if this flag is set to 1. This flag selects data which have sufficient waveform fidelity for L2B to run. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/algorithmrun_flag_a3 For each L2A algorithm, the L2B algorithm is run if this flag is set to 1. This flag selects data which have sufficient waveform fidelity for L2B to run. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/algorithmrun_flag_a4 For each L2A algorithm, the L2B algorithm is run if this flag is set to 1. This flag selects data which have sufficient waveform fidelity for L2B to run. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/algorithmrun_flag_a5 For each L2A algorithm, the L2B algorithm is run if this flag is set to 1. This flag selects data which have sufficient waveform fidelity for L2B to run. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/algorithmrun_flag_a6 For each L2A algorithm, the L2B algorithm is run if this flag is set to 1. This flag selects data which have sufficient waveform fidelity for L2B to run. N/A uint8 N/A 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_a1 Estimated Pgap(theta) from ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_a2 Estimated Pgap(theta) from ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_a3 Estimated Pgap(theta) from ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_a4 Estimated Pgap(theta) from ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_a5 Estimated Pgap(theta) from ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_a6 Estimated Pgap(theta) from ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 0 to 1 N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_error_a1 Uncertainty of Pgap(theta) caused by ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_error_a2 Uncertainty of Pgap(theta) caused by ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_error_a3 Uncertainty of Pgap(theta) caused by ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_error_a4 Uncertainty of Pgap(theta) caused by ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_error_a5 Uncertainty of Pgap(theta) caused by ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/pgap_theta_error_a6 Uncertainty of Pgap(theta) caused by ground finding algorithm for each L2A processing version N/A float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/rg_a1 Integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/rg_a2 Integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/rg_a3 Integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM0000/rx_processing/rg_a4 Integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
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