Airborne LiDAR Terrain Model for North American Forests

G-LiHT's airborne imaging system provides 1-meter resolution bare earth elevation, aspect, and slope data. NASA Goddard scientists have collected this data over diverse forest communities in North America since 2011. The collection continues to grow with new aerial campaigns.

Use Cases

• Model watershed hydrology using the bare earth elevation and slope rasters.
• Analyze forest canopy structure by comparing this Digital Terrain Model with a corresponding Digital Surface Model.
• Map terrain features like aspect for ecological niche modeling of plant species.
• Assess landslide or erosion risk in forested regions using slope and elevation data.

Strengths

• 1-meter spatial resolution provides detailed terrain information.
• Data collection spans over a decade, starting in 2011.
• Covers a broad diversity of forest communities across North America.

Limitations

• Coverage is limited to locally-defined flight areas, not a continuous map.
• Specific row/column counts and total file size are not provided.
• Data is provided as a raster product; the original point cloud data may not be included.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's G-LiHT (Goddard’s LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager) mission.

Collection Method

Collected via a portable, airborne imaging system using LiDAR.

Time Range

Collection began in 2011 and is ongoing.

Freshness

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Geography

Conterminous United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.