Antarctic Ice Sheet Nadir Photon Elevation Measurements

IceBridge Photon Counting Lidar L1B data contains nadir photon counting measurements over Antarctica, including position and orientation data. The data were collected by the ICECAP project, funded by NSF, NERC, and NASA, with support from Operation IceBridge. The dataset was last updated in December 2012.

Use Cases

• Model ice sheet surface elevation from geolocated photon data.
• Analyze photon return density and distribution for surface characterization.
• Integrate position and orientation data for precise geolocation of lidar returns.
• Study temporal changes in Antarctic ice topography using nadir profiling data.

Strengths

• Data collected by the ICECAP project, a major international scientific collaboration.
• Includes nadir photon counting data, a specific and detailed remote sensing measurement.
• Funded and supported by multiple major agencies including NSF, NERC, and NASA.

Limitations

• Dataset is from 2012 and may be temporally stale for current climate studies.
• Specific sample size, row count, and geographic extent within Antarctica are unknown.
• Data format and structure details are unspecified, complicating initial use.

Provenance

Source

International Collaborative Exploration of the Cryosphere through Airborne Profiling (ICECAP) project.

Collection Method

Collected via Sigma Space photon counting lidar during airborne surveys.

Freshness

Last updated in December 2012.

Geography

Antarctica.