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Description

Goddard’s LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager (G-LiHT) mission is a portable, airborne imaging system that aims to simultaneously map the composition, structure, and function of terrestrial ecosystems. G-LiHT primarily focuses on a broad diversity of forest communities and ecoregions in North America, mapping aerial swaths over the Conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

The purpose of G-LiHT’s Metrics data product (GLMETRICS) is to provide extensive lidar height and density metrics and return statistics in more than 80 science data set layers. Included in the product are mean, standard deviation, and percentile information for ground, tree, and shrub data. Some flights also contain Canopy Height Model (CHM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) returns. The total number of metrics layers varies by flight or campaign.

GLMETRICS data are processed as a raster data product (GeoTIFF) at a 13 meter spatial resolution over locally defined areas.

Known Issues

  • Science Data Layers do not currently reflect valid Fill Value, No Data Value, Valid Range, or Scaling Factor. These will be updated when more information is available.

Product Summary

Platforms
G-LiHT
Instruments
Headwall ,
Riegl Airborne Lidar
Spatial Extent

N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170

Spatial Resolution
13 Meters x 13 Meters
Location
PUERTO RICO ,
MEXICO ,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Coordinate System
GEODETIC
Granule Spatial Representation
GEODETIC
Temporal Extent
2011-06-30 to Present
Temporal Resolution
Varies
Data Partner
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) ,
Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD)
Concept ID
C2763264737-LPCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
22178
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Lidar ,
Visible Radiance ,
Infrared Radiance ,
ULTRAVIOLET RADIANCE ,
Microwave Radiance ,
Canopy Characteristics ,
Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM) ,
Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)

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

Cook, B., & Halota, A. (2022). G-LiHT Metrics V001 [Data set]. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/COMMUNITY/GLIHT/GLMETRICS.001 Date Accessed: 2026-05-02

File Naming Convention

GLMETRICS_FL_20200311_FIA8_l0s20_all_d0.tif

The file name begins with Product Short Name (GLMETRICS) followed by the State (FL), the Year, Month, and Day of Acquisition (20200311), the Flight Identifier (FIA8_l0s20_all_d0), and the Data Format (tif).

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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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
shrub_refl_max Maximum relative reflectance of shrub single returns Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
shrub_refl_mean Mean relative reflectance of shrub single returns Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
shrub_stdev Standard deviation of shrub return heights Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_aad Mean Absolute Deviation (AAD = mean(|height ‐mean height|) of tree returns Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_crr Canopy Relief Ratio (CRR = mean-­min:max-­min)of tree returns N/A float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d0 Density deciles (0% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d1 Density deciles (10% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d2 Density deciles (20% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d3 Density deciles (30% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d4 Density deciles (40% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d5 Density deciles (50% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d6 Density deciles (60% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d7 Density deciles (70% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d8 Density deciles (80% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_d9 Density deciles (90% increment) of tree return Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_fcover Fraction of first returns intercepted by tree Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_fract_all Fraction of all returns classified as tree Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_iqr Interquartile range (tree_p75‐tree_p25) of tree returns Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_kurt Kurtosis of tree return height Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_mad Median Absolute Deviation (MAD =median(|height -­ median height|) of tree returns Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_mean Mean of tree return heights Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p10 Height percentiles (10% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p20 Height percentiles (20% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p30 Height percentiles (30% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p40 Height percentiles (40% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p50 Height percentiles (50% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p60 Height percentiles (60% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p70 Height percentiles (70% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p80 Height percentiles (80% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p90 Height percentiles (90% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_p100 Height percentiles (100% increment) of tree return Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_qmean Quadratic mean of tree return heights Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_refl_max Maximum relative reflectance of tree single returns Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_refl_mean Mean relative reflectance of tree single returns Fraction float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_rugosity Standard deviation of gridded CHM values Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_skew Skewness of tree return heights Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_stdev Standard deviation of tree return height Meters float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
tree_vdr Vertical Distribution Ratio (normalized height rangebetween canopy top and median tree returns) N/A float32 N/A N/A N/A N/A
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