Sea Ice Melt Pond Data from the Canadian Arctic

Summary

This data set contains observations of albedo, depth, and physical characteristics of melt ponds on sea ice, taken during the summer of 1994. The melt ponds studied were located just south of Cornwallis Island in the Barrow Strait, Nunavat, Canada. The reflectance spectra were acquired with a portable spectrometer. Cloud conditions and ice type were recorded as well.

Access to the Sea Ice Melt Pond Data from the Canadian Arctic data set is unrestricted, but users are encouraged to register for the data. Registered users will receive e-mail notification about any product changes.

Citing These Data

Morassutti, M. 1995. Sea ice melt pond data from the Canadian Arctic. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N55Q4T1C

Overview Table

Category	Description
Data format	ASCII
Spatial coverage and resolution	The melt ponds studied were located just south of Cornwallis Island in the Barrow Strait in the Canadian Arctic.
Temporal coverage and resolution	1994 ice season
File size	The data file is 67.4 KB.
Parameter(s)	Albedo, depth, and physical characteristics of melt ponds
Metadata access	View metadata
Data access	Data are available via FTP.

Table of Contents

1. Contacts
2. Overview
3. Detailed Data Description
4. Data Access and Related Collections
5. References and Related Publications
6. Acknowledgements
7. Document Information

1. Contacts

Investigator

Mike Morassutti
Earth Observations Laboratory,
Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science,
and the Department of Geography
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1
Canada

Technical Contact

2. Overview

This data set of melt pond observations from Barrow Strait, Nunavut, Canada, was provided to NSIDC by Mike Morassutti. The extensive measurements were acquired for use in climate studies and sea ice modeling. The reflectance spectra were acquired using a portable spectrometer. All data processing and quality control were completed at the Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science. The data are also in a report by Morassutti and LeDrew (1995). Please see this publication for more information.

3. Detailed Data Description

The data are stored in an ASCII file containing 22 columns. See sample data below.

Table 1. Column definitions of the ASCII data set
Column	Definition	Code Used	Format
1	Julian Day		I3
2	2 Time of measurement (local time)	0001-2400	I4
3	Field of view	see table 2	A3
4	Predominant observable cloud type	see table 3	A3
5	Degree of obscuration of solar disc	see table 4	I1
6	Ice type	see table 5	I1
7	Pond depth (m)		F5.3
8	Pond bottom texture	0=smooth,1=rough	I1
9	Indicates presence of ice layer	0=no,1=yes	I1
10	Indicates presence of debris in pond	0=no,1=yes	I1
11	Pond color	see table 6	I2
12	Broadband albedo (400-1000 nm)		F5.3
13	Visible albedo (400-700 nm)		F5.3
14	Near-infrared albedo (700-1000 nm)		F5.3
15	Band 1 albedo (blue, 400-500 nm)		F5.3
16	Band 2 albedo (green, 500-600 nm)		F5.3
17	Band 3 albedo (red, 600-700 nm)		F5.3
18	Band 4 albedo (near IR, 700-800 nm)		F5.3
19	Band 5 albedo (near IR, 800-900 nm)		F5.3
20	Band 6 albedo (near IR, 900-1000 nm)		F5.3
21	Thickness of ice layer (cm)		F3.1
22	Pond number		I3

Table 2. Coding scheme used for instrument field of view
CR	180 degrees
B18	18 degrees
B5	5 degrees

Table 3. Coding scheme used for predominant cloud type
AC	altocumulus
AS	altostratus
CC	cirrocumulus
CI	cirrus
CLR	clear skies
AC	altocumulus
FOG	foggy conditions
SC	stratocumulus
SCA	scattered conditions
ST	stratus

Table 4. Coding scheme used for degree of obscuration of sun
1	Full solar disc is visible
2	Bright sun with some obscuration (resulting from the presence of thin cirrus)
3	Noticeable reduction in solar disc brightness
4	Solar disc is faintly observable
5	Solar disc is totally occluded

Table 5. Coding scheme used for the ice type
1	First-year ice
2	Multi-year ice
3	Landfast ice

Table 6. Coding scheme used for pond color
1	white
2	white-grey
3	grey-white
4	grey
5	grey-blue
6	blue-grey
7	blue
8	blue-green
9	green-blue
10	green
11	green-brown
12	brown-green
13	brown
14	dark green
15	dark blue
16	dark grey
17	black

The color codes specified were selected to match as closely as possible the color gradations occurring in the visible spectrum.

Sample Data Record

See Table 1 (above) for definitions of each column in the data, below.

147  1310    CR    SC   5   3   0.090   1   0   1   7   0.402   0.619   0.184   0.702   0.682   0.519   0.256   0.198   0.140   0.0   01
147  1340    CR    SC   5   3   0.002   1   0   1   6   0.508   0.640   0.377   0.694   0.674   0.607   0.489   0.375   0.261   0.0   02
148  1931    CR    SC   5   1   0.025   1   0   0   4   0.483   0.673   0.292   0.733   0.712   0.633   0.437   0.296   0.154   0.0   03
148  1943    CR    SC   5   1   0.030   1   0   0   4   0.423   0.593   0.253   0.649   0.630   0.551   0.373   0.260   0.146   0.0   04
148  2004    CR    SC   5   1   0.040   1   0   0   4   0.431   0.556   0.305   0.613   0.595   0.522   0.380   0.314   0.248   0.0   05

File Size

The data file is 67.4 KB.

4. Data Access and Related Collections

Data Access

Data are available via FTP.

Related NSIDC Collections

• Arctic Sea Ice Melt Pond Statistics and Maps, 1999, 2000, and 2001
• Meltpond2000 Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer Sea Ice Brightness Temperatures

5. References and Related Publications

M.P. Morassutti and E.F. LeDrew. 1995. Melt Pond Dataset for use in Sea-Ice and Climate Related Studies. Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, Ontario, Canada, ISTS-EOL-TR95-001.

6. Acknowledgements

This data set is maintained at NSIDC with support from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).

7. Document Information

Document Authors

NSIDC staff

Document Creation Date

17 April 1996

Document Revision Date

January 2010, A. Windnagel added an NSIDC related data collection to that section.
July 2006, this document was reformatted. F. Fetterer reviewed this document.

Document URL

http://nsidc.org/data/docs/noaa/g01169_seaice_melt_pond/index.html