The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation: An Update After a Year On-Orbit

Abstract:

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) began collecting science data in April 2019. GEDI uses a multi-beam lidar on the International Space Station to observe the three dimensional structure of the Earth’s forests and topography towards improving our understanding of carbon dynamics and biodiversity. After nearly 18 months on-orbit, the instrument continues to perform as well, and is on track to exceed its goal of providing 10 billion measurements of vertical forest structure over its nominal two-year mission. In this talk, we provide the current status of the mission and explore some of its significant achievements thus far. We also present an update on algorithms, data products and models, and look forward towards what we can expect in the future from GEDI.