Nimbus-7 SMMR Derived Monthly Global Snow Cover and Snow Depth

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Entry ID

NSIDC-0024

Summary

The data set consists of monthly global snow cover and snow depth derived from Nimbus-7 SMMR data for 1978 through 1987. The SMMR data are interpolated for spatial and temporal gaps, and averaged for display in polar stereographic projection. Maps are based on six-day average brightness temperature data from the middle week of each month. Data are placed into 1/2 degree latitude by 1/2 degree longitude grid cells uniformly subdividing a polar stereographic map according to the geographic coordinates of the center of the radiometers' fields of view. Overlapping data from separate orbits in the same six-day period are averaged to give a single brightness temperature assumed to be at the cell's center. Oceans and bays are masked so that only microwave data for land areas are displayed.

Comparisons of SMMR snow cover maps with previous maps produced by NOAA/NESDIS and US Air Force Global Weather Center indicate that the total snow covered area derived from SMMR is usually about ten percent less than that measured by the earlier products, because passive microwave sensors often can't detect shallow dry snow less than about 5 cm deep. Snow depths are comparable, showing SMMR results to be especially good for uniform snow covered areas such as the Canadian high plains and Russian steppes. Heavily forested and mountainous areas tend to mask the microwave snow signatures, and SMMR snow depth derivations are less reliable in those areas.

Formerly distributed by NASA/GSFC/NSSDC and NASA Pilot Land Data System (PLDS), these data are now available via ftp from NSIDC.

Data Set Citation

Dataset Title: Nimbus-7 SMMR Derived Monthly Global Snow Cover and Snow Depth
Dataset Release Place: Boulder, CO U.S.A.
Dataset Publisher: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Online Resource: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0024.html

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1978-11-01
Stop Date: 1987-08-31

Location Keywords

• Continent Antarctica
• Continent Asia
• Continent Europe
• Continent North America
• Continent South America
• Geographic Region Global
• Geographic Region Polar

Science Keywords

• Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover
• Cryosphere Snow/Ice Snow Depth
• Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Cover
• Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Snow Depth

Ancillary Keywords

• Cryosphere
• EOSDIS
• Snow
• Snow Cover
• Snow Depth

Platform

• NIMBUS-7

Instrument

• RADIOMETERS
• SMMR Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer

Project

• EOSDIS Earth Observing System Data Information System
• ESIP Earth Science Information Partners Program

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Data Center

National Snow and Ice Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org
Data Set ID: NSIDC-0024

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 Distributed Active Archive Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/daac/index.html

Data Center Personnel

Name: NSIDC DAAC 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: 8 mm tapes and select images/dates via ftp

Personnel

ALFRED T.C. CHANG
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Phone: (301) 614-5766
Fax: (301) 614-5808
Email: achang@rainfall.gsfc.nasa.gov
Contact Address:
Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes
Code 974.0
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
City: Greenbelt
Province or State: MD
Postal Code: 20771

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

Reference

Chang, A.T.C., J. L. Foster, and D.K. Hall. 1987. Nimbus-7 SMMR derived global snow cover parameters. Annals of Glaciology. 9:39-44.

Foster, J.L., D.K. Hall, and A.T.C. Chang. 1987. Remote sensing of snow. Eos, Transactions of the AGU. 68(32):681-684.

Hall, D.K. 1988. Assessment of polar climate change using satellite technology. Reviews of Geophysics, 26(1):26-39.

Metadata Name and Version

Metadata Name: CEOS IDN DIF
Metadata Version: 9.7

Creation and Review Dates

Last DIF Revision Date: 2001-10-04

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