The proposal continues existing, productive collaborations between UMD and gsfc on developing precise and accurate approaches to processing high-altitude airborne laser altimetry. NASA's land,…

This federal contract award, ID 80NSSC18K0943, was issued by the Shared Services Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) for $977,003.00. The contract, which has no set-aside designation, supports existing collaborations between UMD and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on developing processing approaches for high-altitude airborne laser altimetry data from the Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) facility. This airborne LIDAR system collects surface topography and structure measurements. Under the contract, UMD will enhance and validate LVIS calibration and validation methods, support future LVIS flight missions, and assess surface mass balance and ice dynamics by combining the laser altimetry data with other sensor and modeling results. The contract runs through May 31, 2025.

The proposal continues existing, productive collaborations between UMD and gsfc on developing precise and accurate approaches to processing high-altitude airborne laser altimetry. NASA's land, vegetation and ICE sensor (lvis) is an airborne lidar facility, collecting surface topography and structure measurements for investigators and missions. The lvis-facility is the direct result of a multi-decade collaboration between NASA and UMD. Approx. 200 flight hours of data were collected in 2017 using the system, a level of activity expected to increase over the next several years. We will support the facility by: 1) enhancing and validating current laser altimetry calibration and validation approaches, specifically for the lvis sensor under typical flight operations experienced by the sensor using the recently collected data as a guide; 2) support future flight missions as needed (science, data processing). 3) by assessing surface mass balance and dynamics by combining laser altimetry with other sensor and surface modeling results, provide information on the suitability for various locations for short and/or long term calibration/validation targets for spaceborne and airborne sensors including gedi and icesat-II, as well as a better understanding of mechanisms controlling ICE dynamics.