• ATLAS/ICESat-2 Ocean Surface Height (ATL12) data from August 1, 2024 onward are currently unavailable from OpenAltimetry.  The data continue to be available from the NASA Earthdata catalog via Earthdata Search and other access methods.  We thank you for your patience as we work to resolve the issue.

  • On Wednesday, March 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (US Mountain Time), the following data collections may not be available due to a planned system maintenance: ASO, AMSR Unified, AMSR-E, Aquarius, High Mountain Asia, IceBridge, ICESat/GLAS, ICESat-2, LVIS, MEaSUREs, MODIS, Nimbus, SMAP, SnowEx, SSM/I-SSMIS and VIIRS. Users of the SMAP near real-time products should use the NASA LANCE HTTPS File System for data access. 

OpenAltimetry

Discover and visualize altimetry data across the globe
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A map-based visualization tool for exploring surface elevation data across the Earth, over time

Sample zoomed-in OpenAltimetry screen for ICESat-2

How to use OpenAltimetry for ICESat-2 data

The OpenAltimetry ICESat-2 interface has many powerful tools. Check out this guide to how to use the interface before you dive into exploring.
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OpenAltimetry opening screen for ICESat-2

Go to OpenAltimetry

Visualize and download surface height elevation profiles of land ice, sea ice, land and vegetation, sea ice freeboard, ocean surface, and inland water surface.
Explore OpenAltimetry
OpenAltimetry opening screen for ICESat, annotated

How to use OpenAltimetry for ICESat data

Learn tips and tricks for how to use OpenAltimetry to explore surface elevation data from the ICESat/GLAS satellite mission.
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Please note that OpenAltimetry processes data directly in the NASA Earthdata Cloud. Data may load very slowly so please be patient. We will be improving performance speed in a later update of the site.

 

Screenshot of Lago Greve in OpenAltimetry site
This screenshot is from the NASA-funded OpenAltimetry site. It shows Lago Greve, surrounding glaciers, and ICESat-2 tracks (pink and green lines).

What is OpenAltimetry?

NASA’s OpenAltimetry (OA) is a free and powerful map-based data visualization and discovery tool for exploring surface elevation profiles from ICESat-2 and ICESat satellite mission altimetry data. With OA, users can use explore how different types of surface heights have changed across the Earth over time, and all you need is a web browser.

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