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Topography Data Access and Tools

NASA data detail topography across the land surface, ocean, cryosphere, terrestrial hydrosphere and within the context of climate change. Our datasets and tools help researchers translate these interconnected data points into actionable knowledge.

Topography Datasets

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Dataset Sort descending	Version	Platform	Instrument	Temporal Extent	Spatial Extent	Spatial Resolution	Data Format
GEDI L3 Gridded Land Surface Metrics, Version 1	1	Models, ISS	Computer, GEDI	2019-04-18 to 2020-04-15	N: 52 S: -52 E: 180 W: -180		binary
GEDI L3 Gridded Land Surface Metrics, Version 2	2	ISS, MODELS	GEDI, Computer	2019-04-18 to 2025-07-09	N: 52 S: -52 E: 180 W: -180		multiple
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Backscatter Data (HDF5) V033	033	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, CD, GLAS, GPS, GPS Receiver, LA, PC	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180	60 Meters to 70 Meters x 60 Meters to 70 Meters	HDF
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Backscatter Data V018	18	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, GLAS	2003-01-13 to 2010-01-13	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180		Binary
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Backscatter Data V018	18	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, GLAS	2003-01-13 to 2010-01-13	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180		Binary
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Elevation Data (HDF5) V034	034	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, CD, GLAS, GPS, GPS Receiver, LA, PC	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180	60 Meters to 70 Meters x 60 Meters to 70 Meters	HDF5
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Elevation Data (HDF5) V034	034	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, CD, GLAS, GPS, GPS Receiver, LA, PC	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180	60 Meters to 70 Meters x 60 Meters to 70 Meters	HDF5
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Waveform-based Range Corrections Data (HDF5) V034	034	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, CD, GLAS, GPS, GPS Receiver, LA, PC	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180	60 Meters to 70 Meters x 60 Meters to 70 Meters	HDF
GLAS/ICESat L1B Global Waveform-based Range Corrections Data (HDF5) V034	034	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, CD, GLAS, GPS, GPS Receiver, LA, PC	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180	60 Meters to 70 Meters x 60 Meters to 70 Meters	HDF
GLAS/ICESat L2 Global Land Surface Altimetry Data (HDF5) V033	033	ICESat	GLAS	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180		HDF
GLAS/ICESat L2 Global Land Surface Altimetry Data (HDF5) V034	034	ICESat	ALTIMETERS, CD, GLAS, GPS, GPS Receiver, LA, PC	2003-02-20 to 2009-10-11	N: 86 S: -86 E: 180 W: -180	60 Meters to 70 Meters x 60 Meters to 70 Meters	HDF
G-LiHT Aerial Orthomosaic V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2017-02-21 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	0.02 Meters x 0.02 Meters	GeoTIFF
G-LiHT Canopy Height Model KML V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	1 Meters x 1 Meters	KML
G-LiHT Canopy Height Model V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	1 Meters x 1 Meters	GeoTIFF
G-LiHT Digital Surface Model V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	1 Meters x 1 Meters	GeoTIFF
G-LiHT Digital Terrain Model KML V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	1 Meters x 1 Meters	KML
G-LiHT Digital Terrain Model V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	1 Meters x 1 Meters	GeoTIFF
G-LiHT Lidar Point Cloud V001	001	Airplane	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	1 Meters x 1 Meters	LAS
G-LiHT Metrics V001	001	G-LiHT	Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar	2011-06-30 to Present	N: 73 S: 10 E: -50 W: -170	13 Meters x 13 Meters	GeoTIFF
Global 1-km Gridded Thickness of Soil, Regolith, and Sedimentary Deposit Layers	1	DEM	HYDROMETERS	1900-01-01 to 2015-12-31	N: 90 S: -60 E: 180 W: -180		GeoTIFF
Global Forest Ecosystem Structure and Function Data For Carbon Balance Research	1	NOAA-14	AVHRR	1897-01-01 to 2006-12-31	N: 67.36 S: -42.87 E: 172.75 W: -159.5		Shapefile
Global Soil Profile Data (ISRIC-WISE)	1	NOT APPLICABLE	NOT APPLICABLE	1950-01-01 to 1995-12-31	N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180		multiple
GPM Ground Validation Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) OLYMPEX V1	1	UND CITATION II	LIDAR, VISIBLE SPECTROMETER	2014-09-04 to 2016-03-30	N: 48.0909 S: 47.493 E: -123.129 W: -124.185		GeoTIFF
GPM Ground Validation Duke Soil Moisture IPHEx	1	GROUND STATIONS	INFRARED THERMOMETERS, TEMPERATURE PROBES, THERMOMETERS	2014-02-27 to 2014-10-17	N: 36.5193 S: 35.3731 E: -81.1315 W: -83.5905		ASCII, Binary, Excel, PDF, Word
High Mountain Asia 2 m DEM, Surface Velocity, and Lagrangian Surface Mass Balance for Select Debris Covered Glaciers V001	1	GEOEYE-1, WORLDVIEW-1, WORLDVIEW-2, WORLDVIEW-3	GIS, WV60, WV110	2012-12-23 to 2017-12-22	N: 28.39 S: 28.2 E: 85.77 W: 85.51 , N: 28.12 S: 27.85 E: 87 W: 86.64	2 Meters x 2 Meters	GeoTIFF

Topography Featured Observation Method: ICESat-2

NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) allows scientists to measure the elevation of ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, and land across Earth's temperate and tropical regions, as well as take stock of the vegetation in forests worldwide. ICESat-2 carries the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which sends 10,000 pulses of laser light to the ground per second and then measures how long it takes them be reflected back by the surface to determine the area's elevation. Learn more about ICESat-2/ATLAS near real-time data provided by NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE). ICESat-2 carries the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which sends pulses of laser light to the ground, collects the returning photons in a telescope, and records the photon travel time.

Earthdata graphic identifier on top of image of Earth

ICESat-2 Data Usher in a New Age of Exploration

Data from NASA’s ICESat-2 mission provide incredibly accurate measurements of Earth elevation change—and much more.

8 MIN READ

six vertical bands showing various satellite images

New Low Latency ICESat-2 Datasets

The five new datasets are the result of a joint effort by NASA’s Satellite Needs Working Group Management Office (SNWG MO), ICESat-2 team, and Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).

3 MIN READ

Location of NASA ICESat-2 (ATL13) data (Inland Water Product) from April 25, 2023 over Lake Powell, Utah, United States, viewed in OpenAltimetry.

Laser Altimetry Applications for a Changing World: Explore ICESat-2 Data

This is the first in a five-part webinar series to introduce NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation-2 (ICESat-2) platform and the platform's data, tools, and applications.

Earthdata graphic identifier on top of map of Earth and binary code

Advanced Discovery, Processing, and Visualization Services for ICESat and ICESat-2 Altimeter Data

This ACCESS 2015 project focused on OpenAltimetry, a cloud-ready web-based application for discovery, access, and visualization of ICESat and ICESat-2 data.

Topography Data Tools

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