The Advanced Topographic Altimeter System (ATLAS) on the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) measures surface heights across the world’s frozen regions, forests, lakes, urban areas, and more. The standard product latency is 45 days, on average.
Sea ice height (ATL07QL), land and vegetation height (ATL08QL), atmospheric layer characteristics (ATL09QL), sea ice freeboard (ATL10QL), and inland surface water data (ATL13QL) are available from LANCE at an expedited latency (Quick Looks) of approximately three days. Quick Looks are based on the same algorithms that generate the standard data products. Once final files are available, the corresponding Quick Look files are removed.
Quick Look data support a variety of users and applications, including sea ice forecasting and decision-making related to vegetation, surface water and flooding, and land surface deformation.
To download Quick Look data, register for an Earthdata Login. Use the table below to access specific LANCE data sets or see the ICESat-2 data product list at NASA NSIDC DAAC.
ATLAS/ICESat-2 Quick Looks
| Dataset | Description | Parameter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| ATL07QL | ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Height Quick Look | SEA ICE ELEVATION |
| ATL08QL | ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land and Vegetation Height Quick Look | TERRAIN ELEVATION, VEGETATION HEIGHT |
| ATL09QL | ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Calibrated Backscatter Profiles and Atmospheric Layer Characteristics Quick Look | CLOUD PROPERTIES, LIDAR BACKSCATTER |
| ATL10QL | ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Sea Ice Freeboard Quick Look | FREEBOARD |
| ATL13QL | ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Along Track Inland Surface Water Data Quick Look | SURFACE WATER FEATURES |