Antarctic Photon Elevations from Airborne Lidar

IceBridge Photon Counting Lidar L1B contains geolocated photon elevations captured over Antarctica using a Sigma Space photon counting lidar. Data were collected by the International Collaborative Exploration of the Cryosphere through Airborne Profiling (ICECAP) project, supported by NSF, NASA, and other agencies. The dataset was last updated in December 2011.

Use Cases

• Model ice sheet surface elevation from geolocated photon data for mass balance studies.
• Analyze spatial patterns of photon returns to characterize surface roughness and snow properties.
• Integrate photon elevation points with other IceBridge datasets for multi-sensor cryospheric analysis.
• Calibrate and validate satellite altimetry measurements over the Antarctic continent using ground-truthed photon data.

Strengths

• Data originates from the NASA Operation IceBridge campaign, a major airborne polar observation program.
• Provides direct geolocated photon measurements, a fundamental product for deriving surface elevation.

Limitations

• Dataset is over a decade old, with the last update in 2011, limiting analysis of recent cryospheric changes.
• Specific data volume, row count, and spatial/temporal resolution within Antarctica are not provided.

Provenance

Source

International Collaborative Exploration of the Cryosphere through Airborne Profiling (ICECAP) project, with support from NSF, NASA, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, and NERC.

Collection Method

Collected via airborne Sigma Space photon counting lidar during NASA Operation IceBridge missions.

Freshness

Last updated on 2011-12-23.

Geography

Antarctica