Antarctic Lidar Time-of-Flight Data from ICECAP Project

Time-of-flight data captured over Antarctica using the Sigma Space Photon Counting Lidar Prototype instrument. The data were collected by scientists working on the Investigating the Cryospheric Evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate (ICECAP) project, funded by NSF, NERC, and NASA Operation IceBridge. The dataset is available in BIN, ISO, and HTML formats.

Use Cases

• Analyzing surface elevation and subsurface structure of Antarctic ice sheets using raw photon time-of-flight data.
• Calibrating and validating photon-counting lidar instrument performance in polar conditions.
• Supporting the ICECAP project's mission to investigate the cryospheric evolution of the Central Antarctic Plate.
• Providing foundational raw data for generating higher-level geophysical products like ice thickness and bed topography.

Strengths

• Data originates from a NASA Operation IceBridge-supported instrument prototype, indicating a high-caliber collection standard.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals importance and curation within scientific data repositories.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• There is a conflict in last updated dates: one source reports 2009-12-31, while others report 2026-03-13, creating uncertainty about data currency.

Provenance

Source

Scientists working on the ICECAP project, with support from NSF, NERC, and NASA Operation IceBridge.

Collection Method

Captured using the Sigma Space Photon Counting Lidar Prototype instrument during airborne surveys.

Freshness

2026-03-13

Geography

Antarctica