Global Seasonal Snow Classification System  View Catalog Page Entry ID
ARCSS045
Summary
The data file defines a global seasonal snow classification system. Based on the physical properties of the snow (depth, density, thermal conductivity, number of layers, degree of wetting, etc.), the world's seasonal snow covers were divided into six classes, plus classes for water and ice fields. Each class was defined by its physical properties, then empirically related to climate using three variables (precipitation, wind, and air temperature). A vegetation proxy was used for wind data: tall vegetation equals low wind, short vegetation equals high wind.
The snow classification data are formatted into an array of integers, each value representing a 0.5-degree latitude by 0.5-degree longitude cell. The data set was developed and tested for the Northern Hemisphere. Results for the Southern Hemisphere are untested and have not been evaluated. The Southern Hemisphere suffers from a reduced density of meteorological data which may well have influenced the quality of the snow classification in that area. Also note that much of Antarctica is inappropriately defined as water (the vegetation data set did not extend that far south). A 0.5- x 0.5-degree land-sea mask could be used to set the Antarctica region to the ice classification if this region is of interest.
Geographic Coverage
Spatial Coordinates:
N: 90°
S: -90°
E: 180°
W: -180°
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Data Set Citation
Dataset Creator: Glenn E. Liston and Matthew Sturm
Dataset Title: Global Seasonal Snow Classification System
Dataset Release Date: 1995-01-01, 1998
Dataset Release Place: Boulder, CO U.S.A.
Dataset Publisher: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Online Resource: http://nsidc.org/data/arcss045.html
Temporal Coverage
Start Date: 1993-07-19
Stop Date: 1993-08-16
Location Keywords
- Geographic Region Global
Science Keywords
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover ALPINE SNOW
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover EPHEMERAL SNOW
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover ICE
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover MARITIME SNOW
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover PRAIRIE SNOW
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover SNOW CLASSIFICATION
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover TAIGA SNOW
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover TUNDRA SNOW
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover WATER
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover ALPINE SNOW
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover EPHEMERAL SNOW
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover ICE
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover MARITIME SNOW
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover PRAIRIE SNOW
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover SNOW CLASSIFICATION
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover TAIGA SNOW
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover TUNDRA SNOW
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover WATER
Ancillary Keywords
- ADCC
- ARCSS045
- Arctic System Science Data Coordination Center
- National Science Foundation
- NSF
- NSIDC
- OPP-9415386
- OPP9415386
- Seasonal Snow Cover
- Snow Density
- Snow Depth
- Snow Wetness
Project
- ARCSS/LAII/FLUX Arctic System Science/Land-Atmosphere-Ice Interaction/fluxes
Data Set Progress
COMPLETE
Originating Center
ADCC
Data Center
National Snow and Ice Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org
Data Set ID: ARCSS045
Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC User Services
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
NSIDC Arctic System Science Data Coordination Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/arcss/
Data Set ID: ARCSS045
Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC ARCSS User Services
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
Distribution
Distribution Media: ftp
Personnel
MATTHEW STURM
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Phone: +1 (907) 353-5183
Fax: +1 (907) 353-5142
Email: msturm@crrel.usace.army.mil
Contact Address:
USA-CRREL-Alaska
P.O. Box 35170
City: Ft. Wainwright
Province or State: AK
Postal Code: 99703-0170
GLEN E. LISTON
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Phone: +1 (970) 491-7473
Email: liston@tachu.atmos.colostate.edu
Contact Address:
Department of Atmospheric Science
Colorado State University
City: Fort Collins
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80523
NSIDC USER SERVICES
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
Related URL
GET DATA
GET SERVICE > ACCESS MAP VIEWER
View these and other data in NSIDC's Atlas of the Cryosphere online map viewer.
GET SERVICE > GET WEB COVERAGE SERVICE (WCS)
Access these data in GeoTIFF format using the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Coverage Service (WCS).
GET SERVICE > GET WEB MAP SERVICE (WMS)
Access these data as map images using the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS).
Reference
Sturm, M., J. Holmgren and G. E. Liston. 1995. A seasonal snow cover classification system for local to global applications. Journal of Climate, 8(5):1261-1283.
Metadata Name and Version
Metadata Name: CEOS IDN DIF
Metadata Version: 9.7
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date: 1999-09-09
Last DIF Revision Date: 2009-05-20
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