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Full catalog/CMS_Global_Mangrove_Forest_Ht_2251
CMS_Global_Mangrove_Forest_Ht_2251·v1·dataset

How tall the world's mangrove forests are, from Germany's TanDEM-X radar satellites (2015)

CMS: Global Mangrove Canopy Height Maps Derived from TanDEM-X, 2015
biosphere NASA ORNL_CLOUD Level 3 multiple
In plain English

What it measures. How tall mangrove forests stand around the world in 2015, including the height of the tallest trees, mapped at 12 m detail.

How it's made. Calculated from the German Space Agency's TanDEM-X radar (which builds 3D surface models), with NASA's GEDI space laser measurements used to train and check the heights.

How & where you'd use it. Helps researchers study mangrove forest structure, the local conditions that shape it, and how much carbon these coastal forests store and cycle.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › VEGETATION › CANOPY CHARACTERISTICS › VEGETATION HEIGHT

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2015-01-01 → 2022-05-22
  • Measured byCOMPUTERS (Computer)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -39.1, 180, 34.1
  • Formatsmultiple
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

This dataset characterizes canopy heights of mangrove-forested wetlands globally for 2015 at 12-m resolution. Estimates of maximum canopy height (height of the tallest tree) were derived from the German Space Agency's TanDEM-X data that produced global digital surface models. Also provided are Lidar estimates of canopy height based on the GEDI instrument, which were used for training and validation of the TanDEM-X estimates of forest height. The coverage of these data follows Global Mangrove Watch's mangrove extent maps. These spatially explicit maps of mangrove canopy height can be used to assess local-scale geophysical and environmental conditions that may regulate forest structure and carbon cycle dynamics. Maps revealed a wide range of canopy heights, including maximum values (>60 m) that surpass maximum heights of other forest types. Maps are provided in cloud optimized GeoTIFF format, and mangrove heights for individual GEDI tiles are compiled in a comma separated values (CSV) files.

Get the data

cms_global_mangrove_forest_ht_2251_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="CMS_Global_Mangrove_Forest_Ht_2251",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from ORNL_CLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.