GLAS/ICESat L1A Global Laser Pointing Data, Version 33
Data set id:
GLA04
DOI: 10.5067/ICESAT/GLAS/DATA124
This data set has been retired.
Version Summary
For information about Version 33, visit the ICESat/GLAS Version History page: https://nsidc.org/data/icesat/version-history

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 global laser pointing data (GLA04) contain two orbits of attitude data from the spacecraft star tracker, instrument star tracker, gyro, and laser reference system, and other spacecraft attitude data required to calculate precise laser pointing. Data are in scaled integer binary format, big-endian (Unix) byte order.
Parameter(s):
ATTITUDE CHARACTERISTICSVIEWING GEOMETRY
Platform(s):
ICESAT
Sensor(s):
ALTIMETERS, GLAS
Data Format(s):
Binary
Temporal Coverage:
20 February 2003 to 11 October 2009
Temporal Resolution:
  • 3 hour
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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This data set has been retired. Please contact user services if you have questions.

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