Global LiDAR and High-Resolution Elevation Availability Atlas
Which countries publish LiDAR point clouds and fine-resolution elevation models you can download and reuse? The atlas records the status of every country we have reviewed, with each dataset's resolution, coverage, licence, cost and access method.
Short answer
Of the 237 countries catalogued so far, 28 publish openly licensed LiDAR for most of the land area (Åland Islands, Belgium, Czechia and Denmark and 24 more), 21 have open LiDAR for some regions only, and 14 hold LiDAR that is not openly licensed. 30 countries publish open elevation data at 1 m or finer. Where there is no open national LiDAR, ALOS World 3D – 30m (AW3D30) version 4.1 and ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003 (ASTGTM) are the usual fallback.
- Countries catalogued
- 237
- National open LiDAR
- 28
- Partial open LiDAR
- 21
- Restricted
- 14
- None known
- 174
- Open at 1 m or finer
- 30
- Last reviewed
Map of LiDAR availability
- National open LiDAR 28
- Partial open LiDAR 21
- Restricted 14
- None known 174
- Not yet catalogued
- ≤ 0.5 m 14
- ≤ 1 m 16
- ≤ 2 m 5
- ≤ 5 m 7
- None ≤ 5 m open 195
- Not yet catalogued
Orthographic globe · Natural Earth 1:50m · graticule 15°
Countries
237 countries catalogued
| Country | Region | Status | Best open resolution | Open LiDAR coverage | Datasets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Åland Islands | Europe | National open LiDAR | 2 m | 100% | 2 |
| Albania | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 2 |
| Algeria | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| American Samoa | Oceania | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 3 |
| Andorra | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 3 |
| Angola | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Anguilla | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Antarctica | Antarctica | Partial open LiDAR | 2 m | – | 2 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Argentina | South America | Partial open LiDAR | 5 m | – | 1 |
| Armenia | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Aruba | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Australia | Oceania | Partial open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 9 |
| Austria | Europe | Partial open LiDAR | 0.5 m | – | 10 |
| Azerbaijan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bahamas | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bahrain | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bangladesh | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Barbados | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Belarus | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Belgium | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | 100% | 5 |
| Belize | North America | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Benin | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bermuda | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bhutan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bolivia | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Botswana | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Brazil | South America | Partial open LiDAR | 5 m | – | 4 |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| British Virgin Islands | North America | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 1 |
| Brunei | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Bulgaria | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Burkina Faso | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Burundi | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Cabo Verde | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Cambodia | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Cameroon | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Canada | North America | Partial open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 10 |
| Cayman Islands | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Central African Republic | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Chad | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Chile | South America | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| China | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Colombia | South America | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 1 |
| Comoros | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Cook Islands | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Costa Rica | North America | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Croatia | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| Cuba | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Curaçao | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Cyprus | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Czechia | Europe | National open LiDAR | 5 m | 100% | 3 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Denmark | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.4 m | – | 3 |
| Djibouti | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Dominica | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Dominican Republic | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Ecuador | South America | Partial open LiDAR | 3 m | – | 1 |
| Egypt | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| El Salvador | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Eritrea | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Estonia | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | 100% | 2 |
| Eswatini | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Ethiopia | Africa | Restricted | – | – | 6 |
| Falkland Islands | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Faroe Islands | Europe | None known | 2 m | 100% | 2 |
| Fiji | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Finland | Europe | National open LiDAR | 2 m | – | 3 |
| France | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | – | 5 |
| French Polynesia | Oceania | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 1 |
| French Southern and Antarctic Lands | Antarctica | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Gabon | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Georgia | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Germany | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 18 |
| Ghana | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Greece | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Greenland | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Grenada | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Guam | Oceania | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 2 |
| Guatemala | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Guernsey | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Guinea | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Guinea-Bissau | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Guyana | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Haiti | North America | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 2 |
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands | Antarctica | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Honduras | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Hong Kong | Asia | National open LiDAR | 5 m | – | 2 |
| Hungary | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 2 |
| Iceland | Europe | None known | 2 m | 100% | 1 |
| India | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Indonesia | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Iran | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Iraq | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Ireland | Europe | Partial open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 2 |
| Isle of Man | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| Israel | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Italy | Europe | Partial open LiDAR | 0.5 m | – | 10 |
| Jamaica | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Japan | Asia | Partial open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 4 |
| Jersey | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Jordan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Kazakhstan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Kenya | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Kiribati | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Kosovo | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| Kuwait | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Laos | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Latvia | Europe | National open LiDAR | – | – | 2 |
| Lebanon | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Lesotho | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Liberia | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Libya | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Liechtenstein | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | 100% | 3 |
| Lithuania | Europe | Restricted | – | – | 2 |
| Luxembourg | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | 100% | 2 |
| Macao | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Madagascar | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Malawi | Africa | None known | – | – | 2 |
| Malaysia | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Maldives | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Mali | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Malta | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | 100% | 3 |
| Marshall Islands | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Mauritania | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Mauritius | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Mexico | North America | Partial open LiDAR | 5 m | – | 1 |
| Micronesia | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Moldova | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Monaco | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Mongolia | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Montenegro | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Montserrat | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Morocco | Africa | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Mozambique | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Myanmar | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Namibia | Africa | None known | 0.5 m | – | 1 |
| Nauru | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Nepal | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Netherlands | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | – | 1 |
| New Caledonia | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| New Zealand | Oceania | National open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 3 |
| Nicaragua | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Niger | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Nigeria | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Niue | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Norfolk Island | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| North Korea | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| North Macedonia | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Oceania | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 2 |
| Norway | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | 100% | 3 |
| Oman | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Pakistan | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Palau | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Palestine | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Panama | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Papua New Guinea | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Paraguay | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Peru | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Philippines | Asia | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| Pitcairn Islands | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Poland | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | – | 3 |
| Portugal | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | 100% | 3 |
| Puerto Rico | North America | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | – | 3 |
| Qatar | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Republic of the Congo | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Romania | Europe | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Russia | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Rwanda | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Saint Barthélemy | North America | National open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 2 |
| Saint Helena | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Saint Lucia | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Saint Martin | North America | National open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 2 |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | North America | Partial open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 1 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Samoa | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| San Marino | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| Senegal | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Serbia | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Seychelles | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Sierra Leone | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Singapore | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Sint Maarten | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Slovakia | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | 100% | 3 |
| Slovenia | Europe | National open LiDAR | – | – | 1 |
| Solomon Islands | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Somalia | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| South Africa | Africa | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| South Korea | Asia | None known | – | – | 1 |
| South Sudan | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Spain | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | 100% | 8 |
| Sri Lanka | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Sudan | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Suriname | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Sweden | Europe | National open LiDAR | 1 m | – | 2 |
| Switzerland | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.5 m | 100% | 6 |
| Syria | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Taiwan | Asia | Restricted | – | – | 2 |
| Tajikistan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Tanzania | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Thailand | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| The Gambia | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Timor-Leste | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Togo | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Tonga | Oceania | Restricted | – | – | 0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Tunisia | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Türkiye | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Turkmenistan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | North America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Tuvalu | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Uganda | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Ukraine | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| United Arab Emirates | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| United Kingdom | Europe | National open LiDAR | 0.25 m | – | 9 |
| United States | North America | National open LiDAR | 0.7 m | – | 13 |
| United States Virgin Islands | North America | Partial open LiDAR | – | – | 2 |
| Uruguay | South America | Partial open LiDAR | 2.5 m | – | 4 |
| Uzbekistan | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Vanuatu | Oceania | Restricted | – | – | 1 |
| Vatican City | Europe | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Venezuela | South America | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Vietnam | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Wallis and Futuna Islands | Oceania | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Western Sahara | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Yemen | Asia | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Zambia | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | Africa | None known | – | – | 0 |
| No countries match those filters. | |||||
Global and spaceborne elevation
Worldwide models and spaceborne LiDAR that cover every country: the fallback wherever national LiDAR is missing, restricted or out of date.
Global DEMs
- Copernicus DEM EEA-10 (opens in a new tab) European Space Agency / Copernicus · 10 m · DSM · 39 European countries (EEA-39) Cost Free with registration Licence Not open Copernicus DEM EEA-10 licence; restricted to eligible users (public authorities, Copernicus services, EU institutions and EU-funded research projects) · On request
- ALOS World 3D – 30m (AW3D30) version 4.1 (opens in a new tab) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) · 30 m · DSM · Global land except Japan and Antarctica (version 4.1) Cost Free with registration Licence Open JAXA Terms of Use for research and commercial purposes; free of charge with attribution · Direct download
- ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003 (ASTGTM) (opens in a new tab) NASA / METI (Japan) / LP DAAC · 30 m · DSM · 83°N to 83°S Cost Free with registration Licence Open Openly shared without restriction under the NASA EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance · Direct download
- Copernicus DEM GLO-30 and GLO-90 (opens in a new tab) European Space Agency / Copernicus (data © DLR and Airbus Defence and Space) · 30 m · DSM · Global land, about 149 million km² (1 arc-second GLO-30 and 3 arc-second GLO-90 instances) Cost Free with registration Licence Open Copernicus DEM GLO-30/GLO-90 licence: free of charge, worldwide, reproduction, distribution, communication and adaptation permitted with attribution ("© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved") · Direct download
- Copernicus DEM GLO-30 Public and GLO-90 on AWS (opens in a new tab) Copernicus / Registry of Open Data on AWS · 30 m · DSM · Global (2021 release); a small subset of GLO-30 tiles is not included in the public release Cost Free Licence Open Copernicus DEM GLO-30/GLO-90 licence: free of charge, worldwide, reproduction, distribution, communication and adaptation permitted with attribution ("© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved") · API
- FABDEM V1-2 (Forest And Buildings removed Copernicus DEM) (opens in a new tab) University of Bristol (Neal and Hawker) · 30 m · DTM · Global land; forest and building bias removed from Copernicus GLO-30 Cost Free Licence Not open CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (commercial use by separate agreement via fabdem@fathom.global) · Direct download
- NASA SRTM Global 1 arc second V003 (SRTMGL1) (opens in a new tab) NASA Land Processes DAAC · 30 m · DSM · 60°N to 56°S Cost Free with registration Licence Open Openly shared without restriction under the NASA EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance · Direct download
- NASADEM Merged DEM Global 1 arc second V001 (NASADEM_HGT) (opens in a new tab) NASA JPL / NASA Land Processes DAAC · 30 m · DSM · 60°N to 56°S Cost Free with registration Licence Open Openly shared without restriction under the NASA EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance · Direct download
- MERIT DEM v1.0.3 (opens in a new tab) University of Tokyo (Yamazaki et al.) · 90 m · DSM · 90°N to 60°S (3 arc-second, EGM96 heights); error-reduced merge of SRTM, AW3D and other DEMs Cost Free with registration Licence Not open Dual licence: CC BY-NC 4.0, or ODbL 1.0 for commercial use (share-alike); redistribution of the full dataset requires permission · Direct download
- TanDEM-X 90m DEM (opens in a new tab) German Aerospace Center (DLR) · 90 m · DSM · Global land, about 150 million km² (3 arc-second; ellipsoidal heights, WGS84 G1150) Cost Free with registration Licence Not open DLR licence for scientific use only; commercial use and redistribution not permitted · Direct download
Spaceborne LiDAR
- GEDI L2A Elevation and Height Metrics V002 (opens in a new tab) NASA / University of Maryland / LP DAAC · 25 m · DTM · 54°N to 54°S; sampled 25 m footprints along ground tracks, not a continuous surface Cost Free with registration Licence Open Openly shared without restriction under the NASA EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance · Direct download
- ICESat-2 ATL08 Land and Vegetation Height, Version 7 (opens in a new tab) NASA / National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) · DTM, Canopy height · 88°N to 88°S; along-track segments, not a continuous surface Cost Free with registration Licence Open NASA open data; citation required · Direct download
Multi-country LiDAR portals
- Microsoft Planetary Computer elevation collections (opens in a new tab) Microsoft Planetary Computer · Point cloud, DSM, DTM · STAC collections including cop-dem-glo-30, cop-dem-glo-90, nasadem, alos-dem, 3dep-seamless and 3dep-lidar-copc (United States) Cost Free Licence Not open Varies by collection (e.g. PDDL-1.0 for USGS 3DEP Seamless DEMs) · API
- OpenTopography (opens in a new tab) OpenTopography (San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego) · Point cloud, DTM, DSM · Global portal hosting community and federated lidar and photogrammetric datasets, plus global rasters (Copernicus GLO-30/90, NASADEM, SRTM, AW3D30, GEBCO, SRTM15+, GMRT) Cost Mixed Licence Not open Varies by dataset (many CC BY 4.0; some not provided) · Portal
Polar DEMs
- ArcticDEM (strips v4.1 and mosaic v4.1) (opens in a new tab) Polar Geospatial Center, University of Minnesota · 2 m · DSM · Arctic land areas; Alaska data acquired from June 2022 onwards are not public Cost Free Licence Open CC BY 4.0 · Direct download
- Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA; strips v4.1, mosaic v2) (opens in a new tab) Polar Geospatial Center, University of Minnesota · 2 m · DSM · Antarctica; mosaics at 2 m (50 km tiles) and 10, 32, 100, 500 m and 1 km Cost Free Licence Open CC BY 4.0 · Direct download
Bathymetry
- GEBCO_2026 Grid (opens in a new tab) GEBCO / Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 · DSM · Global ocean and land at 15 arc-second intervals, including a sub-ice topography version and a Type Identifier (TID) grid Cost Free Licence Open Public domain; may be used free of charge (GEBCO terms of use) · Direct download
Methodology and definitions
Status
- National open LiDAR
- Openly licensed LiDAR covers about 70% or more of the land area.
- Partial open LiDAR
- Openly licensed LiDAR exists, but only for limited areas such as states, provinces, cities or project sites.
- Restricted
- LiDAR exists but is not openly licensed: it is sold, released on request, or limited to non-commercial use.
- None known
- No LiDAR was found after a genuine search of national, regional and international sources.
Licence and cost are separate
Open means the licence permits commercial reuse with no more than an attribution requirement. Cost is only what you pay to get the data. Free is not the same as open: a dataset that costs nothing but is licensed for non-commercial use is shown as Free and Not open.
- Free
- No charge and no account needed.
- Free with registration
- No charge, but you need an account, login or API key.
- Paid
- A fee is required.
- Mixed
- Part is free (or there is a free tier) and part is paid.
How coverage is assessed
Each country is reviewed against its national mapping, environment and geological agencies, regional governments, open data portals and international hosts such as OpenTopography. Open LiDAR coverage is the approximate share of the land area covered by openly licensed airborne LiDAR, estimated from the publisher's coverage maps and tile indices. Best open resolution is the finest grid of any openly licensed DEM, or the nominal grid of DTMs derived from open point clouds.
Every dataset link is checked and its HTTP status recorded. Entries were last reviewed on . The atlas currently lists 229 national and regional datasets.
Programmes change quickly. If a status, licence, cost or link is wrong, report a correction via the contact form and we will review it.
Questions
Where can I download free LiDAR data?
Start with the country table on this page: every catalogued country links to a page listing each LiDAR and elevation dataset with its licence, access method and download link. Most free national LiDAR is published by mapping or environment agencies, for example the USGS 3D Elevation Program in the United States, the Environment Agency National LiDAR Programme in England and AHN in the Netherlands. OpenTopography also hosts many research and national point clouds for free download.
What is the difference between a DTM and a DSM?
A digital terrain model (DTM) is the bare ground, with buildings and vegetation removed. A digital surface model (DSM) is the top of whatever the sensor sees first: roofs, tree canopy, and the ground where it is open. Subtracting the DTM from the DSM gives a canopy or object height model. Use a DTM for flood, drainage and slope work, and a DSM for line-of-sight, solar and urban studies.
Is Copernicus DEM good enough instead of LiDAR?
For regional work, often yes. Copernicus GLO-30 is a free, near-global 30 m surface model derived from TanDEM-X radar, with a specified absolute vertical accuracy better than 4 m (90% linear error). It still includes buildings and much of the forest canopy, and a 30 m cell cannot resolve ditches, embankments or building footprints. For site-scale flood modelling, drainage design, engineering or forest inventory, airborne LiDAR at 1 m or finer is far better where it exists.
What is the difference between a LiDAR point cloud and a DEM?
A point cloud is the raw survey: millions of individual returns, each with x, y and z coordinates and often an intensity and a class such as ground, vegetation or building. A DEM is a regular raster grid interpolated from those points, such as a 1 m DTM. Point clouds let you build your own models and measure vegetation structure; DEMs are smaller and ready to use in any GIS.
What counts as open data in this atlas?
A dataset is open only if its licence permits commercial reuse with no more than an attribution requirement, for example CC BY 4.0, the Open Government Licence, CC0 or public domain. Data that is free to view but licensed for non-commercial use, released on request, or sold is recorded as restricted.
Can spaceborne LiDAR such as GEDI or ICESat-2 replace airborne surveys?
No. GEDI and ICESat-2 sample the ground along tracks of footprints rather than mapping it continuously, so there are gaps of hundreds of metres or more between measurements, and GEDI only covers latitudes between about 51.6° north and south. They are excellent for canopy height, ice and global calibration, but not for a wall-to-wall terrain model of a site.