Terrestrial Laser Scan of Buried Ice in Garwood Valley

NASA Earthdata hosts a ground-based laser scan of buried ice deposits in Garwood Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys. The dataset was collected on January 28, 2012 by the SCIOPS organization. It provides a detailed 3D point cloud representation of the terrain and subsurface ice features.

Use Cases

• Model subsurface ice volume and distribution from 3D point cloud elevation data.
• Analyze terrain morphology and erosion patterns linked to buried ice deposits using geospatial coordinates.
• Monitor changes in permafrost and cryosphere features by comparing scan data with other temporal surveys.
• Validate and calibrate aerial or satellite-based remote sensing data using high-resolution ground truth points.

Strengths

• Data provides a high-resolution 3D snapshot of a specific Antarctic valley on a known date (2012-01 28).
• Focuses on a scientifically significant site for cryosphere research in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

Limitations

• Dataset is a single snapshot from 2012, limiting temporal analysis without companion datasets.
• Specific technical details like point density, accuracy metrics, and spatial extent are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata, provided by SCIOPS.

Collection Method

Ground-based terrestrial laser scanning.

Time Range

2012-01-28.

Freshness

Single collection event from 2012-01-28; no stated update frequency.

Geography

Garwood Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.