NASA LiDAR Point Cloud Data for Zambezi Mangrove Forests

NASA's dataset provides high-resolution LiDAR point cloud data collected over mangrove forests in Mozambique's Zambezi River Delta in May 2014. The data is organized into 144 individual 1-by-1-kilometer tiles. This collection supports detailed analysis of coastal vegetation structure and terrain.

Use Cases

• Analyzing mangrove canopy height and vegetation structure using 3D point cloud data.
• Modeling coastal terrain elevation and topography from LiDAR returns.
• Assessing forest composition and biomass within 1km x 1km tile boundaries.
• Studying the spatial distribution and health of marine coastal ecosystems.

Strengths

• Data is organized into 144 spatially explicit 1km x 1km tiles for systematic analysis.
• Provides high-resolution LiDAR data specifically for mangrove forest ecosystems.
• Collected by NASA, indicating a standardized and authoritative collection process.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03 13, while NASA Earthdata lists 2014-05-05.
• The license is specified as 'other-license-specified' without explicit details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Airborne LiDAR surveys.

Time Range

2014-05

Freshness

2026-03-13 03:14:34.553713

Geography

Zambezi River Delta, Mozambique