The Decadal Survey Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) Mission: Global Vegetation Structure Mapping
David
J.
Harding, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, david.j.harding@nasa.gov
(Presenting)
J.
Bryan
Blair, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, james.b.blair@nasa.gov
K.
Jon
Ranson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, kenneth.j.ranson@nasa.gov
Robert
G.
knox, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, robert.g.knox@nasa.gov
The Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) mission is one of 17 Decadal Survey missions recommended by the NRC Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space. The NRC recommendation calls for a low Earth orbiting satellite carrying an imaging lidar as a single-instrument payload with launch in the timeframe 2016-2020. The LIST mission will provide high-resolution elevation images of the Earth’s solid surface and its overlying covers of vegetation, water, snow, ice and manmade structures. The NRC report calls for global mapping with 5 m spatial resolution and 10 cm vertical precision and repeat observations to observe change in selected areas. LIST’s measurements of 3D vegetation structure will contribute to: quantifying global shifts in vegetation patterns, forest stand structure and carbon storage in response to climate change and human land-use; documenting the impact of disturbance events on ecosystems and their subsequent recovery; modeling light utilization and ecosystem productivity; characterizing habitat structure and its relation to species distributions and biodiversity; evaluating fuel-load contributions to wild-fire risks; and assessing vegetation cover mitigating effects on landslide, flood and tsunami risks. An Advanced Mission Concept Study for LIST was conducted at Goddard Space Flight Center in 2007 to document science contributions, quantify measurement requirements, define an implementation approach and assess instrument and mission technical readiness and cost. A full-waveform laser altimeter, flown in a 425 km sun-synchronous orbit, was selected for the study due to its current level of technological maturity and the associated ability to assess the instrument development costs. Single photon laser ranging was identified as an alternative approach that should be considered for the mission. Specific investments and trade studies to further mature the science requirements and technologies needed to accomplish the mission were recommended in the study. Mission contributions to carbon cycle and ecosystem science will be highlighted.
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