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Full catalog/GEDI_L4A_AGB_Density_GW_2028
GEDI_L4A_AGB_Density_GW_2028·v1.1·dataset

How much plant matter forests hold (GEDI, Golden Weeks)

GEDI L4A Footprint Level Aboveground Biomass Density, Golden Weeks, Version 1
land NASA ORNL_CLOUD Level 4 HDF5
In plain English

What it measures. Estimates of how much aboveground plant matter (biomass) forests hold, measured within individual ~25-meter laser footprints, along with the uncertainty of each estimate. It's reported in tonnes per hectare.

How it's made. Produced from the GEDI laser instrument on the International Space Station for four special 'Golden Weeks,' converting the laser's height readings into biomass using models tied to field measurements.

How & where you'd use it. Used to estimate forest carbon stocks and to calibrate and validate GEDI's geolocation and biomass methods; these specific weeks were chosen to support that calibration work.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › LIDAR › LIDAR WAVEFORMBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › EVERGREEN VEGETATIONBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › DECIDUOUS VEGETATIONBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › CANOPY CHARACTERISTICSBIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › BIOMASSBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS › SHRUBLAND/SCRUBBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS › FORESTSBIOSPHERE › ECOSYSTEMS › TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS › GRASSLANDS

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2019-04-18 → 2019-09-05
  • Measured byISS (GEDI) · MODELS (Computer)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-180, -52.2008, 180, 52.4561
  • FormatsHDF5
  • StatusSUPERSEDED

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

This dataset contains Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) Level 4A (L4A) predictions of the aboveground biomass density (AGBD; in Mg/ha) and estimates of the prediction standard error within each sampled geolocated laser footprint. The footprints are located within the global latitude band observed by the International Space Station (ISS), nominally 51.6 degrees N and S and reported for the mission weeks 19, 32, 34 and 38 (a.k.a. Golden Weeks). These weeks cover the range of instrument operating conditions important for calibration and validation of geolocation algorithms, and also include GEDI orbits that are coincident with underflights acquired by the LVIS (Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor) airborne lidar instrument. The GEDI instrument consists of three lasers producing a total of eight beam ground transects, which instantaneously sample eight ~25 m footprints spaced approximately every 60 m along-track. The GEDI beam transects are spaced approximately 600 m apart on the Earth's surface in the cross-track direction, for an across-track width of ~4.2 km. Footprint AGBD was derived from parametric models that relate simulated GEDI Level 2A (L2A) waveform relative height (RH) metrics to field plot estimates of AGBD. Height metrics from simulated waveforms associated with field estimates of AGBD from multiple regions and plant functional types (PFT) were compiled to generate a calibration dataset for models representing the combinations of world regions and PFTs (i.e., deciduous broadleaf trees, evergreen broadleaf trees, evergreen needleleaf trees, deciduous needleleaf trees, and the combination of grasslands, shrubs, and woodlands).

Get the data

gedi_l4a_agb_density_gw_2028_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GEDI_L4A_AGB_Density_GW_2028",
    version="1.1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from ORNL_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.