ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 4
This data set (ATL03) contains height above the WGS 84 ellipsoid (ITRF2014 reference frame), latitude, longitude, and time for all photons downlinked by the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on board the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) observatory. The ATL03 product was designed to be a single source for all photon data and ancillary information needed by higher-level ATLAS/ICESat-2 products. As such, it also includes spacecraft and instrument parameters and ancillary data not explicitly required for ATL03.
There is a more recent version of these data.
Changes for this version include:
- Added a per-photon indicator of possible saturated conditions and/or instrument related effects (quality_ph) allowing users to easily identify photons that are not likely true surface due to saturation conditions and/or internal reflections within the ATLAS instrument.
- Improved the saturation fraction computations for near_sat_frac and full_sat_frac to accommodate the quality_ph calculation.
- Added roll, pitch and yaw from the ANC04 POD file and interpolated them to the geolocation segment rate. These parameters provide the users the components necessary to determine spacecraft orientation and altitude that may influence relative distance between the beams.
- Replaced GMDED2010 with the 3 arc-second MERIT DEM as the global DEM. ATL03 uses reference DEMs to exclude photons outside of the primary telemetry band from signal classification to reduce the number of clouds inadvertently classified as signal. The 3 arc-second spatial resolution of the MERIT DEM is an improvement over the 7.5 arc-second resolution of GMTED2010 providing better terrain heights, particularly over forested regions and river basins.
- Changed geoid from EGM2008 mean-tide system to EGM2008 tide-free system. This allows users more easily to re-reference photon heights above the geoid without additional corrections, bringing consistency to the tidal systems on ATL03.
- Added conversion factors for geoid and solid earth tide that allow easy conversion from/to tide-free/mean-tide systems allowing users to flexibly convert between the tide systems.
COMPREHENSIVE Level of Service
Data: Data integrity and usability verified; data customization services available for select data
Documentation: Key metadata and comprehensive user guide available
User Support: Assistance with data access and usage; guidance on use of data in tools and data customization services
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Once you have logged in, you will be able to click and download files via a Web browser. There are also options for downloading via a command line or client. For more detailed instructions, please see Options Available for Bulk Downloading Data from HTTPS with Earthdata Login. Earthdata Search: This application allows you to search, visualize, and access data across thousands of Earth science data sets. Additional customization services are available for select data sets, including subsetting, reformatting, and reprojection. OpenAltimetry: This application allows users to quickly visualize and access ICESat and ICESat-2 data using a map-based interface. Create and inspect elevation profiles for an area of interest and download the data. |
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.
Neumann, T. A., A. Brenner, D. Hancock, J. Robbins, J. Saba, K. Harbeck, A. Gibbons, J. Lee, S. B. Luthcke, T. Rebold, et al. 2021. ATLAS/ICESat-2 L2A Global Geolocated Photon Data, Version 4. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL03.004. [Date Accessed].