Satellite-based lasers allow to record very precise height profiles of our planet. Measurements not only refer to absolute heights, but also to surface roughness (height of waves on the sea, composition of forest canopies...). Here I am presenting a review article summarizing the technique in general, its historic development, and the results from three recent NASA-missions relying on this technique. This missions were all about capturing data important for climate change: The development of global ice sheets, on land and on the sea, of sea levels and the water levels of in-land lakes and streams, of forest's biomass and activity and of clouds and aerosols.


Citation: Magruder et al., (2024) Monitoring Earth’s climate variables
with satellite laser altimetry. nature reviews earth & environment. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00...