Vegetation Canopy (Cover)
Measurement Instruments
Measurements > Land > Vegetation > Vegetation Canopy (cover)
Measurement Definition: Fraction of the ground area covered by tree crowns in %.
| Instrument | Status/
Accuracy | Instrument Description | Measurement Technology | Timeline |
| EPIC | Operational | Diurnal measurements of ozone, sulfur dioxide, UV surface radiation, clouds, aerosols and vegetation. | n/a |  |
| SAR-L | Operational | Land, ocean, emergencies, soil moisture, interferometry, others. | n/a | |
| S-band SAR | Operational | SAR imagery for a range of applications including agriculture, maritime and forestry | n/a | |
| MOLI Lidar | Being developed | | n/a | |
| P-Band SAR | Being developed | Forest biomass monitoring. Products are Forest Above Ground Biomass, Forest height and Forest Distrubance. | n/a | |
| CAR | Approved | Panchromatic and multispectral (Vis/IR) measurements with high spatial resolution, with stereo capability for DEM generation. Applications in emergencies in general, agriculture, land use/land cover, change detection, urban environment, cartography, topography. | n/a | |
| GEDI | No longer operational | This project will use a laser-based system to study a range of climates, including the observation of the forest canopy structure over the tropics, and the tundra in high northern latitudes. The instrument was placed into storage on the ISS on March 17, 2023, where it is expected to remain for 13-18 months, before continuing operations from 2024. | n/a | |