TechnicalGIS

LiDAR and elevation data for Antarctica

Partial open LiDAR Openly licensed LiDAR exists, but only for limited areas such as states, provinces, cities or project sites.

Airborne LiDAR is openly available for the McMurdo Dry Valleys and Ross Island (NCALM, 2014–2015, CC BY 4.0, about 2,776 km²), while the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) provides a continent-wide 2 m stereo-photogrammetric DSM under CC BY 4.0. Copernicus DEM GLO-30 also covers the continent.

Best open resolution
2 m
Open LiDAR coverage
–
Datasets
2 · 2 open · 2 free
Region
Antarctica
Last reviewed

Datasets 2

Free is not the same as open. Cost is what you pay to get the data; the licence says what you may do with it. How cost and licence are defined

  • Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA; strips v4.1, mosaic v2) (opens in a new tab)

    Polar Geospatial Center, University of Minnesota

    Cost Free Licence Open
    • DSM
    Resolution
    2 m
    Point density
    –
    Vertical accuracy
    Absolute uncertainty below 1 m over most of the area (as published)
    Acquired
    2009–2024
    Coverage
    Antarctica, continent-wide; stereo-photogrammetric DSM from Vantor (Maxar) imagery
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Access
    Direct download
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link check
    Link OK (HTTP 200),

  • 2014-2015 lidar survey of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (opens in a new tab)

    NCALM / NSF via OpenTopography

    Cost Free Licence Open
    • Point cloud
    • DTM
    Resolution
    –
    Point density
    5.09 pts/m²
    Vertical accuracy
    Vertical accuracy estimated at 0.07 m (as published)
    Acquired
    2014–2015
    Coverage
    McMurdo Dry Valleys (Taylor, Wright, Victoria and adjacent valleys), McMurdo Station/Scott Base and parts of Ross Island, about 2,776 km²
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Access
    Direct download
    Formats
    LAZ
    Link check
    Link OK (HTTP 200),

Elsewhere in Antarctica