https://phys.org/news/2018-11-gedi-yield-d-forest-carbon.html

The GEDI mission is designed to help researchers locate those sources and stores of carbon. Scientists know how much carbon is going into the atmosphere, but are much less certain about where and in what quantities carbon is being absorbed, explained Laura Duncanson, a research assistant professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Earth's oceans and forests take up atmospheric carbon, but scientists want to investigate which forests are taking in the most, or if those forests will continue to do so through time. GEDI will help unravel this mystery by providing the first highly detailed forest carbon stock map, pinpointing in fine detail where the Earth's most carbon-rich forests are.