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Full catalog/GLLIDARPC
GLLIDARPC·v001·dataset

3D laser scan of forests and terrain (G-LiHT)

G-LiHT Lidar Point Cloud V001
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 3 active LAS
In plain English

What it measures. A dense 3D point cloud of laser measurements bouncing off forests and terrain, recording the height and position of everything the laser hits — more than 10 points per square meter — including which returns are bare ground and how high features sit above it.

How it's made. Collected by G-LiHT, a portable airborne laser-scanning system flown on aircraft over forests across North America.

How & where you'd use it. Used to map forest structure, tree height, and ground elevation in fine detail for ecosystem and forestry research.

What's measured

LAND SURFACE › TOPOGRAPHY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2011-06-30 → ongoing
  • Measured byAirplane (Headwall, Riegl Airborne Lidar)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-170, 10, -50, 73
  • FormatsLAS
  • StatusACTIVE

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

Goddard’s LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager ([G-LiHT](https://gliht.gsfc.nasa.gov/)) mission is a portable, airborne imaging system that aims to simultaneously map the composition, structure, and function of terrestrial ecosystems. G-LiHT primarily focuses on a broad diversity of forest communities and ecoregions in North America, mapping aerial swaths over the Conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The purpose of G-LiHT’s LiDAR Point Cloud data product (GLLIDARPC) is to provide high-density individual LiDAR return data, including 3D coordinates, classified ground returns, Above Ground Level (AGL) heights, and LiDAR apparent reflectance. GLLIDARPC data are processed as a LAS Version 1.1 binary format specified by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). The point cloud includes a density of more than 10 points per square meter. A low resolution browse is also provided showing the LiDAR Point Cloud as an Inverse Data Weighted (IDW) interpolation in PNG format.

Get the data

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GLLIDARPC",
    version="001",
    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 LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.