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AMSR-E: Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer
The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) is a mission instrument launched aboard NASA's Aqua Satellite on 4 May 2002. The Aqua mission provides a multi-disciplinary study of the Earth's atmospheric, oceanic, cryospheric, and land processes and their relationship to global change. NSIDC currently archives and distributes Level-1A, Level-2A, Level-2B, and Level-3 daily, weekly, and monthly products.
ICESat/GLAS: Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite / Geoscience Laser Altimetry System
GLAS is the sole instrument flying aboard ICESat, launched in January 2003. The main objective of the GLAS mission is to provide accurate, high-resolution data that will contribute to our understanding of ice-sheet mass balance studies in the polar regions. NSIDC currently archives and distributes 15 ICESat/GLAS products.
MODIS: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), now operating on the NASA EOS Aqua and Terra satellites, is an optical, 36-spectral-band instrument that provides daily coverage of the polar regions at spatial resolutions of 250 m, 500 m, and 1,000 m. NSIDC archives and distributes all snow and sea ice products from MODIS/Aqua and MODIS/Terra.
Polar Pathfinders
The NOAA/NASA Pathfinder Program was developed to assure that currently archived Earth science data sets, particularly those significant to global change research, are identified, scientifically validated, and made readily available to the research community. As a subgroup of the Pathfinder Program, Polar Pathfinders seeks to facilitate the comparison of parameters from different data sets. The SMMR-SSM/I, AVHRR, and TOVS research teams employed a common projection, file naming conventions, and validation conventions to develop consistently processed data sets that are easy for the cryospheric science community to combine and contrast.
RAMP: Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project
Radarsat, a satellite built by the Canadian Space Agency and launched by NASA, has acquired the first high-resolution radar image coverage of the entire Antarctic continent. The Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) provides users with continent-wide mapping at resolutions as fine as 25 meters. Initial mosaics of the Radarsat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery are now available at the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) and NSIDC. Full-resolution data are currently available for approved researchers.
Scatterometry: The NASA-funded Scatterometer Climate Record Pathfinder (SCP) has been generating a comprehensive suite of processed scatterometer imagery to support climate studies over the polar and terrestrial regions. Data from spaceborne scatterometers are used to create enhanced-resolution radar backscatter images on consistent, compatible grids. From the time series of radar images, derived products related to key climate-related parameters can be extracted for use in cryospheric and climate change studies. NSIDC is collaborating with Brigham Young University (BYU) and the Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC) to develop integrated active/passive microwave sensor products.
