Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering
Tropical peatlands are estimated to hold carbon stocks of 70 Pg C or more as partly decomposed organic matter, or peat. Peat may accumulate over thousands of years into gently mounded deposits called peat domes with a relief of several meters over distances of kilometers. The mounded shapes of tropi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Science of Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666017222000360 |
| _version_ | 1797809797451481088 |
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| author | Alexander R. Cobb René Dommain Rahayu S. Sukri Faizah Metali Bodo Bookhagen Charles F. Harvey Hao Tang |
| author_facet | Alexander R. Cobb René Dommain Rahayu S. Sukri Faizah Metali Bodo Bookhagen Charles F. Harvey Hao Tang |
| author_sort | Alexander R. Cobb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tropical peatlands are estimated to hold carbon stocks of 70 Pg C or more as partly decomposed organic matter, or peat. Peat may accumulate over thousands of years into gently mounded deposits called peat domes with a relief of several meters over distances of kilometers. The mounded shapes of tropical peat domes account for much of the carbon storage in these landscapes, but their subtle topographic relief is difficult to measure. As many of the world's tropical peatlands are remote and inaccessible, spaceborne laser altimetry data from missions such as NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) on the International Space Station (ISS) and the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) observatory could help to describe these deposits. We evaluate retrieval of ground elevations derived from GEDI waveform data, as well as single-photon data from ATLAS, with reference to an airborne lidar dataset covering an area of over 300 km2 in the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam on the island of Borneo. Spatial filtering of GEDI L2A version 2, algorithm 1 quality data reduced mean absolute deviations from airborne-lidar-derived ground elevations from 8.35 m to 1.83 m, root-mean-squared error from 15.98 m to 1.97 m, and unbiased root-mean-squared error from 13.62 m to 0.72 m. Similarly, spatial filtering of ATLAS ATL08 version 3 ground photons from strong beams at night reduced mean absolute deviations from 1.51 m to 0.64 m, root-mean-squared error from 3.85 m to 0.77 m, and unbiased root-mean-squared error from 3.54 m to 0.44 m. We conclude that despite sparse ground retrievals, these spaceborne platforms can provide useful data for tropical peatland surface altimetry if postprocessed with a spatial filter. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:58:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac310a8b712d4a8890ab3fdc1d7d31d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-0172 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T06:58:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Science of Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac310a8b712d4a8890ab3fdc1d7d31d12023-06-07T04:49:36ZengElsevierScience of Remote Sensing2666-01722023-06-017100074Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filteringAlexander R. Cobb0René Dommain1Rahayu S. Sukri2Faizah Metali3Bodo Bookhagen4Charles F. Harvey5Hao Tang6Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, 138602, Singapore; Corresponding author.Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USAInstitute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, BE1410, Brunei DarussalamEnvironmental and Life Sciences Programme, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, BE1410, Brunei DarussalamInstitute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, GermanyCenter for Environmental Sensing and Modeling, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, 138602, Singapore; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USADepartment of Geography, National University of Singapore, 117570, SingaporeTropical peatlands are estimated to hold carbon stocks of 70 Pg C or more as partly decomposed organic matter, or peat. Peat may accumulate over thousands of years into gently mounded deposits called peat domes with a relief of several meters over distances of kilometers. The mounded shapes of tropical peat domes account for much of the carbon storage in these landscapes, but their subtle topographic relief is difficult to measure. As many of the world's tropical peatlands are remote and inaccessible, spaceborne laser altimetry data from missions such as NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) on the International Space Station (ISS) and the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) observatory could help to describe these deposits. We evaluate retrieval of ground elevations derived from GEDI waveform data, as well as single-photon data from ATLAS, with reference to an airborne lidar dataset covering an area of over 300 km2 in the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam on the island of Borneo. Spatial filtering of GEDI L2A version 2, algorithm 1 quality data reduced mean absolute deviations from airborne-lidar-derived ground elevations from 8.35 m to 1.83 m, root-mean-squared error from 15.98 m to 1.97 m, and unbiased root-mean-squared error from 13.62 m to 0.72 m. Similarly, spatial filtering of ATLAS ATL08 version 3 ground photons from strong beams at night reduced mean absolute deviations from 1.51 m to 0.64 m, root-mean-squared error from 3.85 m to 0.77 m, and unbiased root-mean-squared error from 3.54 m to 0.44 m. We conclude that despite sparse ground retrievals, these spaceborne platforms can provide useful data for tropical peatland surface altimetry if postprocessed with a spatial filter.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666017222000360Tropical peatlandsSpaceborne laser altimetryGround point classificationAerial laser scanningATLASGEDI |
| spellingShingle | Alexander R. Cobb René Dommain Rahayu S. Sukri Faizah Metali Bodo Bookhagen Charles F. Harvey Hao Tang Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering Science of Remote Sensing Tropical peatlands Spaceborne laser altimetry Ground point classification Aerial laser scanning ATLAS GEDI |
| title | Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering |
| title_full | Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering |
| title_fullStr | Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering |
| title_short | Improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering |
| title_sort | improved terrain estimation from spaceborne lidar in tropical peatlands using spatial filtering |
| topic | Tropical peatlands Spaceborne laser altimetry Ground point classification Aerial laser scanning ATLAS GEDI |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666017222000360 |
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