NIC Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Data

Parameters

ICE EXTENT
SEA ICE CONCENTRATION

Note: This product has been replaced by the more comprehensive environmental working Group Joint U.S.-Russian Arctic Sea ice Atlas. ( http://nsidc.org/data/G01962.html) Data are digitized weekly sea ice concentration and extent grids for the Arctic (extending to 45 degrees north, 1972 - 1994) and the Antarctic (extending to 50 degrees south, 1973 - 1994). The Arctic data are divided into two sections: Arctic East (90 W - 90 E, centered on the Greenwich meridian) and Arctic West (90 E - 90 W, centered on the International Date Line.) The grids are digitized at the National Climatic Data Center from weekly charts prepared by the Navy/NOAA National Ice Center, Suitland. Charts are 1:11.6 million for the Northern Hemisphere, and 1:16 million for the Southern Hemisphere, azimuthal equidistant projection, point of tangency at the pole. The ice edge is accurate to within 5 to 10 km in clear conditions; with extreme cloudiness accuracy may deteriorate to 100 km. Data sources include AVHRR LAC, GAC and HRPT, DMSP OLS (visible and infrared) and SSM/I (passive microwave), and aerial reconnaissance from U.S. Navy, Canadian and Danish sources. Weekly gridded data are stored in a WMO standard format called SIGRID.

Data Citation

Benner, D. 1996. NIC Arctic and Antarctic sea ice data. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media.