Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 2, 2025

Early Detection of Cyanobacterial Blooms and Associated Cyanotoxins using Fast Detection Strategy
Published on: February 25, 2021
ICESat-2 for Canopy Cover Estimation at Large-Scale on a Cloud-Based Platform
Emre Akturk1,2, Sorin C Popescu1, Lonesome Malambo1
1Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Abstract:
Forest canopy cover is an essential biophysical parameter of ecological significance, especially for characterizing woodlands and forests. This research focused on using data from the ICESat-2/ATLAS spaceborne lidar sensor, a photon-counting altimetry system, to map the forest canopy cover over a large country extent. The study proposed a novel approach to compute categorized canopy cover using photon-counting data and available ancillary Landsat images to build the canopy cover model. In addition, this research tested a cloud-mapping platform, the Google Earth Engine (GEE), as an example of a large-scale study. The canopy cover map of the Republic of Türkiye produced from this study has an average accuracy of over 70%. Even though the results were promising, it has been determined that the issues caused by the auxiliary data negatively affect the overall success. Moreover, while GEE offered many benefits, such as user-friendliness and convenience, it had processing limits that posed challenges for large-scale studies. Using weak or strong beams' segments separately did not show a significant difference in estimating canopy cover. Briefly, this study demonstrates the potential of using photon-counting data and GEE for mapping forest canopy cover at a large scale.
Related Concept Videos
Precipitation Gravimetry
In determining nickel by gravimetric analysis, a precipitant of ethanolic dimethylglyoxime is added to a hot nickel salt solution. This is quickly followed by the dropwise addition of dilute ammonia solution until precipitation occurs. A...
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Light Acquisition
Precipitation Processes
Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
Levels of Use of a GIS

