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An Examination of ICESat-2 Repeat Tracks for Quantifying Hurricane-Driven Changes in Forest Structure.

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Title: An Examination of ICESat-2 Repeat Tracks for Quantifying Hurricane-Driven Changes in Forest Structure.
Authors: Gautam, Ajay1 (AUTHOR), Narine, Lana L.1 (AUTHOR) lln0005@auburn.edu
Source: Remote Sensing. Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p2023. 20p.
Subjects: Forest canopies, Tree height, Vegetation monitoring, Tropical cyclones, Artificial satellites, Hurricane damage, Remote sensing
Geographic Terms: Alabama
Abstract: Highlights: ICESat-2 ATL08 canopy height metrics demonstrated strong agreement with corresponding airborne LiDAR height measurements with improved performance at 20 m sub-segment scale compared to 100 m segment scale. Hurricane-driven structural changes were detected from multi-temporal ICESat-2 observations, with the greatest canopy height reduction in tall canopy (20–30 m) and evidence of regeneration for shorter canopy classes (0–10 m). Repeat ICESat-2 ground tracks enable the monitoring of structural changes associated with disturbances such as hurricanes. Forests worldwide are impacted by tropical cyclones which alter their structure and ecological functions. In this study, we investigated repeat track data from ICESat-2's (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2's) land and vegetation height product (ATL08) to quantify structural changes in forests, with a focus on coastal forests in Alabama and Florida affected by Hurricane Sally (2020). We evaluated pre-hurricane ATL08 along-track canopy estimates at the ATL08 100 m segment scale and 20 m sub-segment scale and quantified structural canopy changes using exact pre- and post-repeated tracks. Results demonstrated strong agreement between ATL08's 98th percentile canopy height (RH98) and reference airborne LiDAR-derived RH98 at both spatial scales, with improved performance at the 20 m sub-segment scale (mean bias: −1.16 m; MAE: 2.28 m; RMSE: 3.44 m; r: 0.80). Samples over evergreen forests provided reduced bias (−2 m to −0.55 m), reduced RMSE (4.02 m to 2.96 m), and improved correlation (0.77 to 0.83) than woody wetlands for canopy height acquisition. Post-hurricane analyses revealed height reductions in tall canopy (20–30 m) of 1.51 m, while smaller trees (0–10 m) increased by 0.77 m, reflecting growth. Overall, findings highlight ICESat-2's ability to monitor canopy height changes and offer prospects for integrating ICESat-2 data for damage assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
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  Data: An Examination of ICESat-2 Repeat Tracks for Quantifying Hurricane-Driven Changes in Forest Structure.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gautam%2C+Ajay%22">Gautam, Ajay</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Narine%2C+Lana+L%2E%22">Narine, Lana L.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lln0005@auburn.edu</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Remote+Sensing%22">Remote Sensing</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p2023. 20p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forest+canopies%22">Forest canopies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tree+height%22">Tree height</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vegetation+monitoring%22">Vegetation monitoring</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tropical+cyclones%22">Tropical cyclones</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Artificial+satellites%22">Artificial satellites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hurricane+damage%22">Hurricane damage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Remote+sensing%22">Remote sensing</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alabama%22">Alabama</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Highlights: ICESat-2 ATL08 canopy height metrics demonstrated strong agreement with corresponding airborne LiDAR height measurements with improved performance at 20 m sub-segment scale compared to 100 m segment scale. Hurricane-driven structural changes were detected from multi-temporal ICESat-2 observations, with the greatest canopy height reduction in tall canopy (20–30 m) and evidence of regeneration for shorter canopy classes (0–10 m). Repeat ICESat-2 ground tracks enable the monitoring of structural changes associated with disturbances such as hurricanes. Forests worldwide are impacted by tropical cyclones which alter their structure and ecological functions. In this study, we investigated repeat track data from ICESat-2's (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2's) land and vegetation height product (ATL08) to quantify structural changes in forests, with a focus on coastal forests in Alabama and Florida affected by Hurricane Sally (2020). We evaluated pre-hurricane ATL08 along-track canopy estimates at the ATL08 100 m segment scale and 20 m sub-segment scale and quantified structural canopy changes using exact pre- and post-repeated tracks. Results demonstrated strong agreement between ATL08's 98th percentile canopy height (RH98) and reference airborne LiDAR-derived RH98 at both spatial scales, with improved performance at the 20 m sub-segment scale (mean bias: −1.16 m; MAE: 2.28 m; RMSE: 3.44 m; r: 0.80). Samples over evergreen forests provided reduced bias (−2 m to −0.55 m), reduced RMSE (4.02 m to 2.96 m), and improved correlation (0.77 to 0.83) than woody wetlands for canopy height acquisition. Post-hurricane analyses revealed height reductions in tall canopy (20–30 m) of 1.51 m, while smaller trees (0–10 m) increased by 0.77 m, reflecting growth. Overall, findings highlight ICESat-2's ability to monitor canopy height changes and offer prospects for integrating ICESat-2 data for damage assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/rs18122023
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 20
        StartPage: 2023
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Forest canopies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tree height
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vegetation monitoring
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tropical cyclones
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Artificial satellites
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hurricane damage
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Remote sensing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Alabama
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: An Examination of ICESat-2 Repeat Tracks for Quantifying Hurricane-Driven Changes in Forest Structure.
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            NameFull: Gautam, Ajay
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            NameFull: Narine, Lana L.
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            – D: 15
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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