Spaceborne LIDAR systems and their usage: A review

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems are technologies that use laser beams to measure surface topography with high precision. Spaceborne LIDAR systems enable multidisciplinary research thanks to the unique properties of laser technology. This review examined 87 Turkish and English sources including articles, conference papers, theses, official sources, and user guides from the last 10 years on the ICESat, ICESat-2, and GEDI systems. The technical characteristics of the systems are detailed, and their uses in the literature are examined under five separate headings: forest canopy cover and land elevation, glaciers and snow masses, water resources and bathymetry, climate change and fires, and building and tree heights. The results show that ICESat-2 provides sufficient accuracy (mean R2≈0.6, mean RMSE≈2.7 m) in canopy, snow depth, and water surface detection, while GEDI is effective in bare land and canopy height measurements (mean R2≈0.6, mean RMSE≈2.9 m). According to the results, while spaceborne LIDAR systems cannot replace ground measurements or airborne LIDAR, it is possible to improve results by integrating satellite images such as Landsat and Sentinel and elevation data. Accuracy values depend on the application area, but R2 is mostly in the range of 0.6-1.0, while RMSE is mostly in the range of 1-6 m. Some studies also include classification, which results in overall accuracy ranging from 79-96% and kappa values ranging from 76-80%. This review provides researchers and practitioners with a resource that guides them in selecting appropriate data and methods under different conditions.