On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2
Abstract NASA's ICESat‐2 mission measures Earth's elevation with the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a 6‐beam photon‐counting laser altimeter. The Global Geolocated Photon data product (ATL03) is the primary source of photon information used by surface‐type‐specific hi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Earth and Space Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001503 |
| _version_ | 1818724193745764352 |
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| author | Aimée Gibbons Thomas Neumann David Hancock Kaitlin Harbeck Jeffrey Lee |
| author_facet | Aimée Gibbons Thomas Neumann David Hancock Kaitlin Harbeck Jeffrey Lee |
| author_sort | Aimée Gibbons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract NASA's ICESat‐2 mission measures Earth's elevation with the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a 6‐beam photon‐counting laser altimeter. The Global Geolocated Photon data product (ATL03) is the primary source of photon information used by surface‐type‐specific higher‐level products, along with the Atmospheric Layer Characteristics product (ATL09). ATL03 provides time‐tagged, geolocated photon heights referenced to the ellipsoid and a parameter providing an initial classification of photon events as signal or background. We use this classification to evaluate ATLAS radiometry (number of signal photons per transmitted laser pulse) over short time scales and over the mission to date. The radiometric performance of ATLAS will in part determine what differences in the signal and background photon rates are significant and indicate geophysical, rather than instrumental, changes. We find the ATLAS radiometry is very stable over short time scales and exhibits a long‐term decrease of ∼1 signal photon per laser pulse (∼−12%) in the strong spots over the first 1.5 years of the mission. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:22:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5bc67cc0ba0c4304a6de3a76ba5516a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-5084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:22:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth and Space Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-5bc67cc0ba0c4304a6de3a76ba5516a02022-12-21T21:32:09ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842021-10-01810n/an/a10.1029/2020EA001503On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2Aimée Gibbons0Thomas Neumann1David Hancock2Kaitlin Harbeck3Jeffrey Lee4KBR Greenbelt MD USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center Cryospheric Science Laboratory Greenbelt MD USAKBR Greenbelt MD USAKBR Greenbelt MD USAKBR Greenbelt MD USAAbstract NASA's ICESat‐2 mission measures Earth's elevation with the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a 6‐beam photon‐counting laser altimeter. The Global Geolocated Photon data product (ATL03) is the primary source of photon information used by surface‐type‐specific higher‐level products, along with the Atmospheric Layer Characteristics product (ATL09). ATL03 provides time‐tagged, geolocated photon heights referenced to the ellipsoid and a parameter providing an initial classification of photon events as signal or background. We use this classification to evaluate ATLAS radiometry (number of signal photons per transmitted laser pulse) over short time scales and over the mission to date. The radiometric performance of ATLAS will in part determine what differences in the signal and background photon rates are significant and indicate geophysical, rather than instrumental, changes. We find the ATLAS radiometry is very stable over short time scales and exhibits a long‐term decrease of ∼1 signal photon per laser pulse (∼−12%) in the strong spots over the first 1.5 years of the mission.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001503 |
| spellingShingle | Aimée Gibbons Thomas Neumann David Hancock Kaitlin Harbeck Jeffrey Lee On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2 Earth and Space Science |
| title | On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2 |
| title_full | On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2 |
| title_fullStr | On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2 |
| title_short | On‐Orbit Radiometric Performance on ICESat‐2 |
| title_sort | on orbit radiometric performance on icesat 2 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001503 |
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