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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

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/rg_eg_sigma_error_a3 Error in rg_eg_sigma ns float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_eg_sigma_error_a4 Error in rg_eg_sigma ns float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_eg_sigma_error_a5 Error in rg_eg_sigma ns float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_eg_sigma_error_a6 Error in rg_eg_sigma ns float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_error_a1 Error of the integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_error_a2 Error of the integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_error_a3 Error of the integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_error_a4 Error of the integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_error_a5 Error of the integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rg_error_a6 Error of the integral of the ground component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rv_a1 Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rv_a2 Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rv_a3 Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rv_a4 Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rv_a5 Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rv_a6 Integral of the vegetation component in the RX waveform for each L2A processing version counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rx_energy_a1 Received waveform energy between toploc and botloc with noise removed counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rx_energy_a2 Received waveform energy between toploc and botloc with noise removed counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rx_energy_a3 Received waveform energy between toploc and botloc with noise removed counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rx_energy_a4 Received waveform energy between toploc and botloc with noise removed counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rx_energy_a5 Received waveform energy between toploc and botloc with noise removed counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/rx_energy_a6 Received waveform energy between toploc and botloc with noise removed counts float32 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_processing/shot_number Unique shot ID. counter uint64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_range_highestreturn One-way range distance in m between the spacecraft and the top of canopy (defined by toploc) m float64 -9999 N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_sample_count The number of sample intervals (elements) in each pgap_theta_z waveform. sample intervals int64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/rx_sample_start_index The index in the pgap_theta_z dataset of the first element of each waveform. The indices start at 1. index (origin 1) int64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/selected_l2a_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/selected_rg_algorithm 0 = L2B algorithm not run; 1 = algorithm 1 (successful); 2 = algorithm 1 (partial success - valid tx_eg parameters were unavailable); 3 = algorithm 2 N/A uint8 N/A N/A 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 Unique shot ID. counter uint64 N/A N/A N/A N/A
/BEAM1011/stale_return_flag Indicates that a "stale" cue point from the coarse search algorithm is being used. boolean uint8 N/A 0 to 1 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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