GEDI L1B: Global Lidar Waveform Data from the International Space Station

GEDI L1B Geolocated Waveform Data provides high-resolution laser ranging observations of Earth's 3D structure from the International Space Station. The dataset, produced by NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation mission, contains geolocated, corrected, and smoothed waveforms for eight beams, with an average footprint resolution of 25 meters. Data collection occurred globally between 51.6° N and 51.6° S, with a hiatus from March 2023 to April 2024 before operations resumed.

Use Cases

• Estimating above-ground biomass and carbon stocks based on canopy height and structure measurements.
• Mapping global forest canopy height and 3D vegetation structure from geolocated waveform data.
• Analyzing terrain elevation and land surface topography using the included SRTM digital elevation model comparison.
• Studying urban infrastructure and water persistence patterns with the added land cover datasets.
• Characterizing ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity through high-resolution, dense lidar sampling.

Strengths

• Provides data at the highest resolution and densest sampling of any orbital lidar instrument.
• Each product contains 85 layers of data for each of the eight laser beams.
• Spatial resolution is specified as an average footprint of 25 meters.
• Granule size was reduced from ~7.99 GB to ~2.00 GB for easier handling.

Limitations

• Row count and total dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Known data acquisition gaps exist, including a suspension from December 2019 to January 2020.
• Some files from specific dates have incorrect Reference Ground Track numbers in their filenames.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by the GEDI lidar instrument attached to the International Space Station.

Time Range

Data collection spans from the mission start until March 2023, resumed April 2024. Specific start date not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:21:18.983132; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage between 51.6° N and 51.6° S latitudes.