Abstract
Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2/Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System 06 (ICESat-2/ATL06) data can be widely used for various applications, such as monitoring changes in glacier thickness. In this article, we use field surveys based on continuously operating reference system (CORS) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to verify the elevation accuracy of the ATL06 product. A total of 208 ATL06 footprints were selected for an accuracy assessment by obtaining 348 CORS global positioning system (GPS) measurements and deriving a digital elevation model (DEMs) from 2683 UAV images in four experimental areas with different terrain and landform types in the Qilian Mountains, China. The experiments show that ATL06 data have very high vertical accuracy and horizontal positioning accuracy; the average root-mean-square error (RMSE) yielded by CORS is 0.0846 m, and the corresponding RMSE yielded by the UAV data is 0.1517 m. Furthermore, the positioning accuracy was also affected by the terrain slope.
Highlights
T HE geoscience laser altimeter systems (GLAS) spaceborne laser altimeter carried by Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-1 (ICESat-1) was successfully launched in January 2003, and its main task is to measure the ice mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, and land topography and vegetation characteristics [1]–[4]
ICESat-1/GLAS products include ice sheet (GLA12), ocean (GLA15), and land (GLA14) products, which can be widely used in various fields
Some researchers have explored ice sheet elevation changes in the north and south in the past decade based on ICESat-1/GLAS products [5]–[8]
Summary
T HE geoscience laser altimeter systems (GLAS) spaceborne laser altimeter carried by Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-1 (ICESat-1) was successfully launched in January 2003, and its main task is to measure the ice mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, and land topography and vegetation characteristics [1]–[4]. ICESat-1/GLAS products include ice sheet (GLA12), ocean (GLA15), and land (GLA14) products, which can be widely used in various fields. Some researchers have explored ice sheet elevation changes in the north and south in the past decade based on ICESat-1/GLAS products [5]–[8]. DiMarzio et al [9] generated Antarctica digital elevation models (DEMs) with a 500-m spatial resolution and Greenland DEMs with a 1-km spatial resolution for monitoring the volume variation in ice sheets from February 2003 to June 2005.
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