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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
| Dataset Sort descending | Version | Platforms | Instruments | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, 1 kilometer, HDF5 V003 | 003 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-01-01 to 2008-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
1000 Meters x 1000 Meters | HDF5 |
| ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, 100 meter, HDF5 V003 | 003 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-01-01 to 2008-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
100 Meters x 100 Meters | HDF5 |
| ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, Monthly, 0.05 deg, HDF5 | 004 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-03-01 to 2015-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
5600 Meters x 5600 Meters | HDF5 |
| ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, Monthly, 0.05 deg, HDF5 V041 | 041 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-03-01 to 2015-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
5600 Meters x 5600 Meters | HDF5 |
| ASTER Global Emissivity Dataset, Monthly, 0.05 deg, netCDF4 | 004 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-03-01 to 2015-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
5600 Meters x 5600 Meters | netCDF-4 |
| ASTER Global Water Bodies Database V001 | 001 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-03-01 to 2013-11-30 |
N: 82 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180 |
30 Meters x 30 Meters | GeoTIFF |
| ASTER Orthorectified Digital Elevation Model (DEM) V003 | 003 | Terra | ASTER | 2000-03-06 to 2025-12-15 |
N: 83 S: -83 E: 180 W: -180 |
15 Meters x 15 Meters<br>30 Meters x 30 Meters<br>90 Meters x 90 Meters | GeoTIFF |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2018-10-13 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
0.7 Meters x 0.7 Meters | HDF5 |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land and Vegetation Height Quick Look V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2025-06-11 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5 | |
| ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land and Vegetation Height Quick Look V007 | 007 | ICESat-2 | ATLAS | 2025-06-11 to Present |
N: 88 S: -88 E: 180 W: -180 |
HDF5 |
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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.
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.
Data from NASA’s ICESat-2 mission provide incredibly accurate measurements of Earth elevation change—and much more.
8 MIN READ
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
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.
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
| Tool Sort descending | Description | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthdata Search | Earthdata Search enables data discovery, search, comparison, visualization, and access across NASA’s Earth science data holdings. | Search and Discovery, Access, Cataloging, Cloud Computing, Downloading | |
| Worldview | Worldview offers the capability to interactively browse over 1,200 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and download the underlying data. | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization, Access, Comparison, Monitoring Natural Events |
SHOWING 2 OF 2
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