CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS
Measurements > Land >
Vegetation >
Above Ground Biomass (AGB)


Measurement Definition*: Total amount of vegetation in a reference area - Physical unit: [ t/ha (tons/hectare) ] - Accuracy unit: [ t/ha ]

Thematic Links
InstrumentStatus/
Accuracy
Instrument DescriptionMeasurement TechnologyTimeline
ATLAS
Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System
Operational
Provide date on ice sheet height and sea ice thickness, land altitude, aerosol height distributions, cloud height and boundary layer height.n/a
C-Band SAR
C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
Marine core services, land monitoring and emergency services. Monitoring sea ice zones and arctic environment. Surveillance of marine environment, monitoring land surface motion risks, mapping of land surfaces (forest, water and soil, agriculture), mapping in support of humanitarian aid in crisis situations.n/a
ETM+
Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
Operational
Measures surface radiance and emittance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.n/a
OLI
Operational Land Imager
Operational
Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.n/a
OLI-2
Operational Land Imager 2
Operational
Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.n/a
PALSAR-2
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2
Operational
Disaster monitoring, land monitoring, agricultural monitoring, natural resource exploration, global forest monitoring, potential use and interferometry.n/a
SAR (RADARSAT-2)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band
Operational
All-weather images of ocean, ice and land surfaces. Used for monitoring of coastal zones, polar ice, sea ice, sea state, geological features, vegetation and land surface processes.n/a
SAR (RCM)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band
Operational
All-weather, C-band data to support ecosystem monitoring, maritime surveillance and disaster management.n/a
SAR-L
L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Operational
Land, ocean, emergencies, soil moisture, interferometry, others.n/a
S-band SAR
S-band SAR
Operational
SAR imagery for a range of applications including agriculture, maritime and forestryn/a
SGR-ReSI-CDHS
Space GNSS Receiver - Remote Sensing Instrument, CoreDHS avionics
Operational
Ocean winds, waves, soil moisture, flooding, ice, snow. Similar to SGR-ReSI-Z, but with a smaller Zynq, and only supports 2 RF channels, only allowing collection of single frequency and single polarisation. n/a
MOLI Imager
MOLI Imager
Being developed
 n/a
MOLI Lidar
MOLI Lidar
Being developed
 n/a
PALSAR-3
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-3
Being developed
Disaster monitoring, land monitoring, agricultural monitoring, natural resource exploration, global forest monitoring, potential use and interferometry.n/a
P-Band SAR
P-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Being developed
Forest biomass monitoring. Products are Forest Above Ground Biomass, Forest height and Forest Distrubance.n/a
SGR-ReSI-Z
Space GNSS Receiver - Remote Sensing Instrument (Zynq based)
Being developed
+/-0 %
Ocean winds, waves, soil moisture, flooding, ice, snown/a
L-band SAR (NISAR)
L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) (NISAR)
Approved
3-year mission to study solid earth deformation (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides), changes in ice (glaciers, sea ice) and changes in vegetation biomassn/a
LandIS
Landsat Next Instrument Suite
Proposed
Measures surface radiance, land cover state and change (e.g., vegetation type), and longwave termal infrared surface emittance. Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications.n/a
L-Band SAR
L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Proposed
Global observation of dynamic processes in the bio-, cryo-, geo- and hydrosphere.n/a
GEDI
Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation Lidar
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
* Description adapted from WMO.