DESDynI lidar for solid earth applications

As part of the NASA's DESDynI mission, global elevation profiles from contiguous 25 m footprint Lidar measurements will be made. Here we present results of a performance simulation of a single pass of the multi-beam Lidar instrument over uplifted marine terraces in southern Alaska. The significance of the Lidar simulations is that surface topography would be captured at sufficient resolution for mapping uplifted terraces features but it will be hard to discern 1-2m topographic change over features less than tens of meters in width. Since Lidar would penetrate most vegetation, the accurate bald Earth elevation profiles will give new elevation information beyond the standard 30-m DEM.