GLAS/ICESat L1A Global Altimetry Data, Version 33

Data set id:

GLA01

DOI: 10.5067/ICESAT/GLAS/DATA121

Data Citation and Acknowledgment
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set. Such a practice gives credit to data set producers and advances principles of transparency and reproducibility.

10.5067/ICESAT/GLAS/DATA121

Zwally, H. J., Schutz, R., Bentley, C., Bufton, J., Herring, T., Minster, J., Spinhirne, J. & Thomas, R. (2011). GLAS/ICESat L1A Global Altimetry Data. (GLA01, Version 33). [Data Set]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ICESAT/GLAS/DATA121. [describe subset used if applicable]. Date Accessed 11-05-2024.

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This data set has been retired.
Version Summary

For information about Version 33, see the NSIDC ICESat Description of Data Releases page.

Overview

NOTE ON GLAS BINARY DATA: Access to all ICESat/GLAS binary data products at NSIDC DAAC was removed 01 August 2017. The Binary Data Subsetter also has been decommissioned. ICESat/GLAS data remain available in HDF5 format. The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) instrument on the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) provides global measurements of polar ice sheet elevation to discern changes in ice volume (mass balance) over time. Secondary objectives of GLAS are to measure sea ice roughness and thickness, cloud and atmospheric properties, land topography, vegetation canopy heights, ocean surface topography, and surface reflectivity. GLAS has a 1064 nm laser channel for surface altimetry and dense cloud heights, and a 532 nm lidar channel for the vertical distribution of clouds and aerosols. Level-1A altimetry data (GLA01) include the transmitted and received waveform from the altimeter. Each data granule has an associated browse product that users can quickly view to determine the general quality of the data in the granule. Browse products consist of image plots of key parameters and statistics. Data are in scaled integer binary format, big-endian (Unix) byte order.

Parameter(s):

WAVEFORM

Platform(s):

ICESAT

Sensor(s):

ALTIMETERS, GLAS

Data Format(s):

Binary

Temporal Coverage:

20 February 2003 to 11 October 2009

Temporal Resolution:

23 minute

Spatial Resolution:

60 m to 70 m

60 m to 70 m

Spatial Coverage:

N:

86

S:

-86

E:

180

W:

-180

Blue outlined yellow areas on the map below indicate the spatial coverage for this data set.

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