In late 2018, NASA launched the ICESat-2 satellite, whose main purpose is to monitor ice and snow using LiDAR technology. The elevation measurements provided by its LiDAR sensor can also be utilized in remote sensing of forests. Thus, ICESat-2 data will be used to supplement the forest measurements collected by another spaceborne LiDAR, the GEDI, which will not cover the boreal forest zone. The project will apply a combination of ICESat-2 LiDAR measurements and Sentinel-2 satellite images to estimate forest area and above-ground biomass in Finland. The reliability of spaceborne forest inventory will be compared with airborne laser scanning based inventories and the official forest statistics. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Texas A&M University.

2020

2024