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GLAS/ICESat L2 Sea Ice Altimetry Data

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata:

Identification_Information
Data_Quality_Information
Spatial_Reference_Information
Distribution_Information
Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Zwally, H.J., R. Schutz, C. Bentley, J. Bufton, T. Herring, J. Minster, J. Spinhirne, R. Thomas

Publication_Date: 20030101

Title: GLAS/ICESat L2 Sea Ice Altimetry Data

Edition: 18

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:

Series_Information:

Series_Name:
Issue_Identification:

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Boulder, CO, USA
Publisher: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)

Other_Citation_Details:

Online_Linkage: http://nsidc.org/data/gla13.html

Description:

Abstract:: The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) instrument on the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) provides global measurements of polar ice sheet elevation to discern changes in ice volume (mass balance) over time. Secondary objectives of GLAS are to measure sea ice roughness and thickness, cloud and atmospheric properties, land topography, vegetation canopy heights, ocean surface topography, and surface reflectivity. GLAS has a 1064 nm laser channel for surface altimetry and dense cloud heights, and a 532 nm lidar channel for the vertical distribution of clouds and aerosols. This level-2 altimetry product (GLA13) provides surface elevations for sea ice. Data also include the laser footprint gelocation and reflectance, as well as geodetic, instrument, and atmospheric corrections for range measurements. Each data granule has an associated browse product that users can quickly view to determine the general quality of the data in the granule. Browse products consist of image plots of key parameters and statistics. Data are in scaled integer binary format, big-endian (Unix) byte order, and are available via FTP.
Purpose:: Not Available
Supplemental_Information:: REFERENCE: Bae, S. and B.E. Schutz. 2002. Precision attitude determination (PAD). GLAS algorithm theoretical basis document. Version 2.2. Austin, TX: Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin. Brenner, A.C., C.R. Bentley, B.M. Csatho, D.J. Harding, M.A. Hofton, J. Minster, L. Roberts, J.L. Saba, R. Schutz, R.H. Thomas, D. Yi, and H.J. Zwally. 2000. Derivation of range and range distributions from laser pulse waveform analysis for surface elevations, roughness, slope, and vegetation heights. Algorithm theoretical basis document. Version 3.0. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. Center for Space Research. 'ICESat/GLAS.' January 2002. http://www.csr.utexas.edu/glas/. Davis C.H. and H.J. Zwally. 1993. Geographic and seasonal variations in the surface properties of the ice sheets by satellite radar altimetry. Journal of Glaciology 39:687-697. Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). 1996. EOS Ground System (EGS) Systems and Operations Concept. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. Farrell, W.E. 1972. Deformation of the Earth by surface loads. Review of Geophysics and Space Physics 10: 761-797. GLAS Science Team. 2000. Mission Operations Requirement Document (MORD) for the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) Mission. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. GLAS Science Team. 1997. GLAS Science Requirements. Version 2.01. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. Heroux, D. 2000. Progress report on GLAS interface effort with ECS NOSE. Rev. 29 December 2000. Landover, MD: Emergent-IT/Raytheon. Herring, T.A. and K. Quinn. 1999. Atmospheric delay correction to GLAS laser altimeter ranges. GLAS algorithm theoretical basis document. Version 1.0. Lanham, MD: Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Jester, P., and D. Hancock. 2002. The Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for Level 1A Processing, Version 1.2. Wallops Island, VA: Raytheon ITSS. Jester, P., and J. Lee. 2002. GLAS standard data products specification - level 1. Version 6.0. Wallops Island, VA: Raytheon ITSS. Lee, J. 2002. GSAS user's guide: Version 4.0. Wallops Island, VA: Raytheon ITSS. McGarry, J.F., J. Abshire, X. Sun, J. Saba, A. Brenner, and D. Yi. 2002. GLAS flight science data selection algorithms for the altimeter (1064 nm), Version 4.15. Unpublished report. Rim, H., and B. Schutz. 2002. Precision orbit determination. GLAS algorithm theoretical basis document. Version 2.2. Austin, TX: Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin. Schutz, B. 2000. GLAS altimeter post-launch calibration/validation plan. Version 0.99. Austin, TX: Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin. Schutz, B. 2002. Laser footprint location (geolocation) and surface profiles. GLAS algorithm theoretical basis document. Version 3.0. Austin, TX: Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin. Wahr, J., D. Wingham, and C. Bentley. 2000. A method of combining ICESat and GRACE satellite data to constrain Antarctic mass balance. Journal of Geophysical Research 105(B7):16,279-16,294. Yi, D., J. Minster, and C. Bentley. 1999. Ocean tidal loading corrections. GLAS algorithm theoretical basis document. Version 1.0. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. Zwally, H.J., B. Schutz, W. Abdalati, J. Abshire, C. Bentley, A. Brenner, J. Bufton, J. Dezio, D. Hancock, D. Harding, T. Herring, B. Minster, K. Quinn, S. Palm, J. Spinhirne, and R. Thomas. 2002. ICESAT's laser measurements of polar ice, atmosphere, ocean, and land. Journal of Geodynamics 34: 405-445. Zwally, H.J., B. Schutz, D. Hancock, and A. Brenner. 2000. ICESat/GLAS Standard Data Products in HDF and SCF Formats. Version 1.2. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center. Zwally, H.J., R.A. Bindschadler, A.C. Brenner, T.V. Martin, and R.H. Thomas. 1983. Surface elevation contours of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Journal of Geophysical Research 88(C3):1589-1596.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 20030220
Ending_Date: Unknown

Currentness_Reference:Unknown

Status:

Progress: In Work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -180.0
East_Bounding_Coordinate: 180.0
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 86.0
South_Bounding_Coordinate: -86.0

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD SCIENCE PARAMETERS
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD PLATFORM
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD INSTRUMENT
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: PROJECT
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ANCILLARY KEYWORDS
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO TOPIC CATEGORY
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: DATA SET LANGUAGE
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > SEA ICE > ICE ROUGHNESS
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > SEA ICE > REFLECTANCE > LASER REFLECTANCE
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SEA ICE > ICE ROUGHNESS
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SEA ICE > REFLECTANCE > LASER REFLECTANCE
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > SEA ICE > SEA ICE ELEVATION
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SEA ICE > SEA ICE ELEVATION
Theme_Keyword: ICESAT > ICE, CLOUD AND LAND ELEVATION SATELLITE
Theme_Keyword: SATELLITES
Theme_Keyword: ALTIMETERS
Theme_Keyword: GLAS > GEOSCIENCE LASER ALTIMETER SYSTEM
Theme_Keyword: EOSDIS > EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM DATA INFORMATION SYSTEM
Theme_Keyword: ICESAT > ICE, CLOUD AND LAND ELEVATION SATELLITE
Theme_Keyword: ESIP > EARTH SCIENCE INFORMATION PARTNERS PROGRAM
Theme_Keyword: Atmospheric Delay Correction
Theme_Keyword: Daac
Theme_Keyword: Dem
Theme_Keyword: Eosdis
Theme_Keyword: Gla13
Theme_Keyword: Glas
Theme_Keyword: Icesat
Theme_Keyword: Isips
Theme_Keyword: Laser Footprint
Theme_Keyword: Laser Pulse
Theme_Keyword: Nasa
Theme_Keyword: Noise Level
Theme_Keyword: Nsidc
Theme_Keyword: Off-nadir Pointing Direction
Theme_Keyword: Peak Amplitude
Theme_Keyword: Range
Theme_Keyword: Received Energy
Theme_Keyword: Received Pulse Gain
Theme_Keyword: Sea Ice Surface Elevation
Theme_Keyword: Signal Saturation
Theme_Keyword: Transmitted Energy
Theme_Keyword: Transmitted Gain
Theme_Keyword: Waveform
Theme_Keyword: Waveform Kurtosis
Theme_Keyword: Waveform Peak
Theme_Keyword: Waveform Skewness
Theme_Keyword: OCEANS
Theme_Keyword: ENGLISH

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD
Place_Keyword: GEOGRAPHIC REGION > GLOBAL
Place_Keyword: GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

Temporal:

Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD
Temporal_Keyword: 1/40 Second Full-rate Data
Temporal_Keyword: < 1 Second

Access_Constraints: Not Available

Use_Constraints:

Not Available

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: NSIDC USER SERVICES

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: DAVID HANCOCK

Contact_Position: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center
Address: CIRES, 449 UCB
Address: University of Colorado
City: Boulder
State_or_Province: CO
Postal_Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
Address: ISIPS Manager
Address: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Address: Wallops Flight Facility
Address: USA
City: Wallops Island
State_or_Province: VA
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +1 (303) 492-6199

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: +1 (303) 492-2468

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: nsidc@nsidc.org

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: David.W.Hancock@nasa.gov

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:: Browse products in PNG graphic format contain quality information; these are available along with corresponding data granules in the Data Pool or EOS Data Gateway. The i_FrameQF quality flag is set to '1' if there is a problem in calculating individual parameters, or the flag is set to '0' if there are no problems.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Not Available

Completeness_Report:

Not Available

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:: Not Available
Process_Date: Unknown

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: NSIDC_DAAC > NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center
Contact_Person: NSIDC USER SERVICES

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center
Address: CIRES, 449 UCB
Address: University of Colorado
City: Boulder
State_or_Province: CO
Postal_Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +1 (303) 492-6199

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: +1 (303) 492-2468

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: nsidc@nsidc.org

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: NSIDC > National Snow and Ice Data Center
Contact_Person: NSIDC USER SERVICES

Contact_Position: DATA CENTER CONTACT

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center
Address: CIRES, 449 UCB
Address: University of Colorado
City: Boulder
State_or_Province: CO
Postal_Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: +1 (303) 492-6199

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: +1 (303) 492-2468

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: nsidc@nsidc.org

Resource_Description: GLA131

Distribution_Liability:

Not Available

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: scaled integer binary
Transfer_Size: 107 MB per granule

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://nsidc.org/daac/index.html

Access_Instructions:

DATA CENTER URL

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://nsidc.org

Access_Instructions:

DATA CENTER URL

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov

Access_Instructions:

Official ICESat web site

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://nsidc.org/daac/icesat/

Access_Instructions:

ICESat/GLAS web site at NSIDC

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://www.csr.utexas.edu/glas/

Access_Instructions:

ICESat/GLAS web site at University of Texas

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://glas.wff.nasa.gov/

Access_Instructions:

ICESat/GLAS web site at NASA Wallops Flight Facility

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:: http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Access_Instructions:

ICESat/GLAS web site at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Fees: Not Available

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20021028

Metadata_Review_Date: 20110211

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: GCMD User Support Office
Contact_Organization: NASA Global Change Master Directory

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address
Address: Not Available
City: Lanham
State_or_Province: MD
Postal_Code: 20706
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: Not Available

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gcmduso@gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time

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