Where the Tall Things Are Found

    The Challenge

    Your challenge is to explore planetary surface types around the world and design new data products for types of terrain beyond ice sheets, sea ice, land, ocean and inland water elevation.

    Background

    NASA’s Ice, cloud and Land Elevation Satellite – 2 (ICESat-2) launched on 15 September 2018 and uses a laser altimeter called the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) to measure the height of glaciers, ice sheets, and the height of sea ice. These elevation data are designed to help scientists understand how the height of glaciers and ice sheets are changing, as well as estimating the thickness of polar sea ice.

    However, from the vantage point of space, ICESat-2 also collects data over the oceans, continental land masses, and inland water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs. The ICESat-2 mission has developed data products for these different surface types. However, these general surface types only scratch the surface of the different parts of the planet.

    Potential Considerations

    • What other surface types are out there, and how could ICESat-2 data be used to characterize them and how they change with time? For example:
      • What do urban areas look like in ICESat-2 data?
      • What can ICESat-2 data tell us about the changes in the topography of deserts?
      • Can ICESat-2 data be used to study changes in permafrost?
      • How does the surface of the ocean look different between the coastal regions and the center of the oceans far from land?

    Find or Start a Team

    Join others and say other things here about joining teams