2026-05-26T16:39:50Zhttp://nsidc.org/api/dataset/metadata/oaioai:nsidc.org/NSIDC-0304.0012026-03-03T21:04:28Zv0_daacv0_allnasa_nsidc_daac
NSIDC-0304.001GLAS/ICESat 500 m Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of AntarcticaDimarzio, J.GLAS/ICESat 500 m Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of Antarctica2007-06-21Boulder, Colorado USANASA NSIDC DAAC: NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center1false10.5067/K2IMI0L24BRJhttps://nsidc.org/sites/default/files/multi_nsidc-0304-v001-userguide_0.pdfNSIDC-0304InvestigatorAnitaBrenneranita.brenner@gsfc.nasa.govCode 614.5GreenbeltMD20771USAInvestigatorHelenA.FrickerUniversity of California, San Diego9500 Gilman Dr.La JollaCalifornia92093USAInvestigatorRobertSchutzGLAS Science Team LeadUniversity of Texas at AustinCenter for Space ResearchAustinTX78712-1085USAInvestigatorChristopherA.ShumanChristopher.A.Shuman@nasa.gov1-301-614-5706Cryospheric Sciences BranchCode 614.1NASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMD20771USAInvestigatorH.JayZwallyJay.Zwally@nasa.gov1-301-614-56431-301-614-5644Laboratory for Hydrospheric ProcessesNASA/Goddard Space Flight CenterCode 971GreenbeltMD20771USATechnical ContactNSIDCUser Servicesnsidc@nsidc.org1-303-492-61991-303-492-2468CIRES, 449 UCBUniversity of ColoradoBoulderCO80309-0449USAEARTH SCIENCECRYOSPHEREGLACIERS/ICE SHEETSGLACIER ELEVATION/ICE SHEET ELEVATION EARTH SCIENCETERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHEREGLACIERS/ICE SHEETSGLACIER ELEVATION/ICE SHEET ELEVATION ElevationAltimetryAntarcticaAntarctic Ice SheetDemDEMs Antarctica-projectDEMs-projectDigital Elevation ModelElevationICESat/GLAS-related projectIce SheetIce Sheet ElevationPolarPolar StereographicSouth PoleGLASGeoscience Laser Altimeter SystemICESATIce, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite2003-02-012005-06-30complete-86-63-180180ContinentAntarctica500 m500 mSlope and elevation accuracy of the DEMs is best near the latitudinal limit of satellite coverage (±86°), and provides a good representation of the ice sheet and mountain areas (based on comparison with satellite images). DEM accuracy decreases as track spacing between ICESat profiles increases equatorward.
As a quality and accuracy indicator, the mean distance of all contributing GLAS surface spot data to the grid cell center was recorded in a separate identical grid for each ice sheet. These mean distance files are provided with the elevation data.These data are freely, openly, and fully accessible, provided that you are logged into your NASA Earthdata profile (https://urs.earthdata.nasa.gov/).These data are freely, openly, and fully available to use without restrictions, provided that you cite the data according to the recommended citation at https://nsidc.org/about/use_copyright.html. For more information on the NASA EOSDIS Data Use Policy, see https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-data/data-use-policy.EnglishNASA NSIDC DAACNASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Centerhttps://nsidc.org/daacData Center ContactNSIDCUser Servicesnsidc@nsidc.org1-303-492-6199National Snow and Ice Data CenterCIRES, 449 UCBUniversity of ColoradoBoulderCO80309-0449USAFTP414 MBBinaryAbshire, J., and 8 others. 2005. Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the ICESat mission: on-orbit measurement performance. Geophysical Research Letters v. 32, L21S02, doi:10.1029/2005GL1024028.
Brenner, A., and 11 others. 2003. Derivation of range and range distributions from laser pulse waveform analysis for surface elevations, roughness, slope, and vegetations heights, Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD) v.4.1.
DiMarzio, J. P., A. C. Brenner, and H. J. Zwally. 2004. Comparison of Envisat and ERS radar altimetry for ice –sheet elevation change studies. ESA Envisat Sympsium, Salzburg, Austria, September 9, 2004.
Krabill, W., W. Abdalati, and 7 others. 2002. Aircraft laser altimetry measurement of elevation changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet: technique and accuracy assessment. J. Geodynamics 34, 357-376.
Shuman, C., J. Zwally, B. Schutz, A. Brenner, J. DiMarzio, V. Schuedo, and H. Fricker. 2006. ICESat Antarctic elevation data: preliminary precision and accuracy assessment. Geophysical Research Letters 33, L07501, doi:10.1029/2005GL025227.
Zwally, H. J., A. C. Brenner, J. A. Major, T. V. Martin, and R. A. Bindschadler. 1990. Satellite radar altimetry over ice, Vol. 1. Processing and corrections of Seasat data over Greenland. NASA Reference Publication 1233.The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) instrument on the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) provides global measurements of elevation, and repeats measurements along nearly-identical tracks; its primary mission is to measure changes in ice volume (mass balance) over time. This digital elevation model (DEM) of Antarctica is derived from GLAS/ICESat laser altimetry profile data and provides new surface elevation grids of the ice sheets and coastal areas, with greater latitudinal extent and fewer slope-related effects than radar altimetry.
This DEM is generated from the first seven operational periods (from February 2003 through June 2005) of the GLAS instrument. It is provided on polar stereographic grids at 500 m grid spacing. The grid covers all of Antarctica north of 86° S. Elevations are reported as centimeters above the datums, relative to both the WGS 84 ellipsoid and the EGM96 geoid, in two separate elevation data files. A data quality map of the interpolation distance is distributed in addition to the elevation data. ENVI header files are also provided.
The data are in 4-byte (long) signed integer binary files (big endian byte order) and are available via FTP.VIEW RELATED INFORMATIONhttps://nsidc.org/sites/default/files/multi_nsidc-0304-v001-userguide_0.pdfGLAS/ICESat 500 m Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of Antarctica, Version 1 User GuideGET DATAhttps://daacdata.apps.nsidc.org/pub/DATASETS/DEM/nsidc0304_icesat_antarctic_demHTTPSPROJECT HOME PAGEhttps://nsidc.org/data/icesat/Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation (ICESat) project page at NSIDCVIEW RELATED INFORMATIONhttps://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0305GLAS/ICESat 1 km Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of GreenlandCEOS IDN DIFVERSION 9.92007-06-212026-03-03NSIDCVersion SummaryNSIDCMinor VersionNSIDCCurrent Version1NSIDCLevel of ServiceStandardNSIDCFull Dataset CitationDimarzio, J. (2007). <i>GLAS/ICESat 500 m Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Model of Antarctica</i>. (NSIDC-0304, Version 1). [Data Set]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5067/K2IMI0L24BRJ">https://doi.org/10.5067/K2IMI0L24BRJ</a>. [<i><describe subset used if applicable></i>].NSIDCRetiredfalseNSIDCRelated Servicesapplication/vnd.nasa.cmr.umm+jsonfalseamyygillilandmmt_service_12717S1977897447-NSIDCV0NSIDCV06service2025-04-01T22:12:52.112Zhttps://daacdata.apps.nsidc.org/NSIDCV0_DAAC_Data_HTTPS_File_SystemNOT PROVIDED1HTTPS File SystemQuickly download a few files using a web browser, or access the data through a command-line utility such as WGET.https://nsidc.org/data/user-resources/help-center/programmatic-access-guide-data-daacdataappsVIEW RELATED INFORMATIONProgrammatic Data Access GuidePublicationURLUSER SERVICESNSIDC DAAC User ServicesEmailnsidc@nsidc.orgDATA ACCESS/RETRIEVALDATA MANAGEMENT/DATA HANDLINGEARTH SCIENCE SERVICESThis is the most current release of this service.DEVELOPERORIGINATORPUBLISHERSERVICE PROVIDERNASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive CenterNASA NSIDC DAACNASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) at NSIDChttps://nsidc.org/daacNSIDC DAAC Home Pagehttps://cdn.earthdata.nasa.gov/umm/service/v1.4UMM-S1.4https://daacdata.apps.nsidc.org/pub/DATASETS/DEM/nsidc0304_icesat_antarctic_dem