GEDI Forest Height
- Visualizations by:
- Kel Elkins
- View full credits
This visualization depicts a global view of forest height data collected by the GEDI instrument aboard the International Space Station. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2019 and April 2020. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.
Coming soon to our YouTube channel.
GEDI’s data on surface structure are also of immense value for weather forecasting, forest management, glacier and snowpack monitoring, and the generation of more accurate digital elevation models. GEDI provides the missing piece – 3D structure – in NASA’s observational assets which enables us to better understand how the Earth behaves as a system, and guides the actions we can take to sustain critical resources.
The GEDI instrument is a geodetic-class, light detection and ranging (lidar) laser system comprised of 3 lasers that produce 8 parallel tracks of observations. Each laser fires 242 times per second and illuminates a 25 m spot (a footprint) on the surface over which 3D structure is measured. Each footprint is separated by 60 m along track, with an across-track distance of about 600 m between each of the 8 tracks. GEDI expected to produce about 10 billion cloud-free observations during its nominal 24-month mission length.
To learn more, visit the GEDI webpage
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected for the west coast of the United States. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.
Coming soon to our YouTube channel.
This visualization depicts a global view of forest height data collected by the GEDI instrument aboard the International Space Station. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale. This version has no on screen color bar.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected for the west coast of the United States. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale. This version has no on screen color bar.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over Florida. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over the Laurentides region around Quebec Canada. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over Senegal. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over Florida. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale. This version has no on screen color bar.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale. This version has no on screen color bar.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over the Laurentides region around Quebec Canada. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale. This version has no on screen color bar.
This is a closeup view of the GEDI forest height data collected over Senegal. Data is drawn on the globe over time, depicting how data coverage increases with each satellite pass. Brown and dark green represent shorter vegetation. Bright green and white represent taller vegetation. This visualization uses data collected between April 2018 and April 2019. Height is exaggerated to depict variation at this scale. This version has no on screen color bar.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Visualizers
- Kel Elkins (USRA) [Lead]
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
Scientists
- Atticus Stovall (University of Maryland)
- Temilola Fatoyinbo (NASA/GSFC)
Technical support
- Ian Jones (ADNET)
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET)
Datasets used in this visualization
GEDI Relative Height
RH100 or relative height is the 100th percentile of waveform energy relative to ground elevation. Derived from the L2B LIDAR metric RH100 data product.
Dataset can be found at: https://gedi.umd.edu/
See more visualizations using this data setNote: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.