Investigating ICESat-2 ATL08 Terrain Height Estimation Performance and Affecting Factors: The Impact of Land Cover, Slope, and Acquisition Time

of -0.42 m, indicating a slight underestimation of the terrain surface. The univariate analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between terrain slope and vertical error, indicating that slope is the prominent degradation factor contributing to pulse broadening. Additionally, dense forest cover was found to limit ground photon retrieval, leading to increased error margins, whereas nighttime acquisitions offered slightly improved precision. These findings suggest that while ATL08 is a valuable topographic source, slope-dependent corrections are essential for applications in mountainous environments.