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2012
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images for 2011 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images for 2011 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images catalog page.
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery for 2011 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery for 2011 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery catalog page.
New data from AGDC
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC has released new data sets relating to Antarctic firn samples, ice cores, and ice motion. The following data sets are now available for download, along with documentation describing the data.
- Microparticle, Conductivity, and Density Measurements from the WAIS Divide Deep Ice Core, Antarctica (NSIDC-0499).
- Alkanes in Firn Air Samples, Antarctica and Greenland (NSIDC-0504).
- WAIS Divide Snowpit Chemical and Isotope Measurements, Antarctica (NSIDC-0506).
- GPS Ice Flow Measurements, Allan Hills, Antarctica (NSIDC-0507).
See the data set web pages for documentation and to download data. Antarctic glaciology researchers funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs are required to submit their data to AGDC. For more information, see the AGDC Submit Data Web page.
NASA IceBridge ATM L1B and ATM L2 2011 Greenland Data Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength and IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength and IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness catalog pages.
2011
NASA IceBridge ATM L1B and ATM L2 2011 Greenland Data Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength and IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength and IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness catalog pages.
Find Arctic Ocean Data from Submarines at the SCICEX Web Site
The SCICEX Web site has been improved. SCICEX is a federal interagency collaboration among the U.S. Navy, research agencies, and the marine research community to use nuclear-powered submarines for scientific studies of the Arctic Ocean. The new site includes links to data access locations, science meeting notes and presentations, history and background of the program, scientific publications, and a photo gallery. Data include sea ice thickness, water chemistry, bathymetry, hydrography, and biology measurements of the Arctic Ocean.
NASA IceBridge POS/AV L1B Data for Antarctica 2011 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data for Antarctica 2011 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data catalog page.
NASA Pre-IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges Data for 2007 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA Pre-IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges data for 2007 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges catalog page.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges Data for 2011 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges data for 2011 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Narrow Swath ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Narrow Swath ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Narrow Swath ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Sander AIRGrav L3 Bathymetry Data for 2009 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Sander AIRGrav L3 Bathymetry data for 2009 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Sander AIRGrav L3 Bathymetry catalog page.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L1B Geolocated Return Energy Waveforms Data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L1B Geolocated Return Energy Waveforms data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L1B Geolocated Return Energy Waveforms catalog page.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles Data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images catalog page.
13 December 2011
MEaSUREs Antarctic data products released
NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of two Antarctic data sets, part of the NASA Making Earth Science Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) project. The MEaSUREs project aims to develop consistent global and continent scale data records related to earth science, or Earth System Data Records (ESDRs).
- MEaSUREs InSAR-Based Antarctica Velocity Map (nsidc-0484) provides the first comprehensive, high-resolution, digital mosaic of ice motion in Antarctica. The data set was assembled from multiple satellite interferometric synthetic-aperture radar data, acquired during the International Polar Year 2007 to 2009.
- MEaSUREs Antarctic Grounding Line from Differential Satellite Radar Interferometry (nsidc-0498) provides a high-resolution map of grounding lines in Antarctica, derived using 17 years of differential satellite synthetic aperture.
NASA IceBridge UAF GPS/IMU L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge UAF GPS/IMU L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge UAF GPS/IMU L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data catalog page.
MODIS Browse Images Unavailable
Some 12,500 Browse Images from 19 June 2002 to 10 September 2002 are unavailable for the following MODIS products: MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m (MOD10_L2) and MODIS/Terra Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km (MOD29). NSIDC is working to recover these images and apologizes for any inconvenience.
NASA Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness data are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness catalog page.
NASA Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the Pre-IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L3 Gridded Bed Map Data for 2010 Antarctica and 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L3 Gridded Bed Map data for 2010 Antarctica and 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge MCoRDS L3 Gridded Bed Map catalog page.
AGDC releases new data
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center at NSIDC has released a new data set, containing depth profiles for methane (CH4) in South Pole firn air. The profiles represent a roughly 100-year history of the isotopic composition of CH4 at South Pole Station. For more information and to access the data, see Methane Isotopes in South Pole Firn Air, 2008.
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Accumulation Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Accumulation Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Accumulation Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness Data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. In addition, CRESIS 2009 Antarctica data are now included with the MCoRDS L2 data set. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness catalog page.
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for 2010 and 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. In addition, CRESIS 2009 Antarctica data are now included with the MCoRDS L1B data set. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge HiCARS 2 L0 Raw Return Energy Amplitudes Data for 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge HiCARS 2 L0 Raw Return Energy Amplitudes data for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge HiCARS 2 L0 Raw Return Energy Amplitudes catalog page.
IceBridge Scintrex CS-3 Cesium Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Scintrex CS-3 Cesium Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Scintrex CS-3 Cesium Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field catalog page.
NASA IceBridge HiCARS 1 L0 Raw Return Energy Amplitudes Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge HiCARS 1 L0 Raw Return Energy Amplitudes data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge HiCARS 1 L0 Raw Return Energy Amplitudes catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies Data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies Data catalog page.
New NOAA Climate Data Record of Sea Ice Concentration Provides Full Data Transparency and Improved Quality Assessment
In cooperation with NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Climate Data Record (CDR) program, NSIDC has released a CDR of sea ice concentration that has full data transparency. Transparency, in this sense, means that the input data, code, and processing steps of the data are known, well documented, and openly available. One requirement for a CDR, set forth by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC), is that the provenance of the data product must be fully known. Full provenance and traceability of the input data, code, and processing of this data set are known; thus, the data satisfy the requirements for a CDR. In addition, a CDR must be of sufficient length, consistency, reliability, and sustainability "to distinguish between artificial changes related to the observing system and real changes in climate" (NRC, 2004).
The NOAA/NSIDC CDR sea ice concentrations are derived from passive microwave instruments, using a combination of two algorithms developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Fields of data quality assessment information are also included in the CDR product. The files are provided in netCDF4 format (including Climate and Forecasting [CF] metadata), which is a self-describing and sustainable file format. To learn more and to access the data, see the NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record of Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentration web page.
AMSR-E Instrument Failure
As of 06:58 UTC on 04 October 2011, the AMSR-E instrument on board the Aqua satellite stopped producing data due to a problem with the rotation of its antenna. NASA is currently working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to assess the condition of the AMSR-E instrument and consider future steps. As more information becomes available, NSIDC will post updates via RSS news feed and inform registered AMSR-E users via email. For more information or to register as an AMSR-E data user, please contact NSIDC User Services.
New AMSR-E/Aqua L1A Data Available
On 28 September 2011, Version 3 (V003) of the AMSR-E/Aqua L1A Raw Observation Counts data set was released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The V003 release includes improved geometric accuracy, a switch from HDF version 4.2r1 to 4.2r4, and an FTP location change.
To continue receiving these data, users should update any scripts or bookmarks to the new FTP location, ftp://n4ftl01u.ecs.nasa.gov/SAN/AMSA/AMSREL1A.003/. And to be notified by email of future updates to this product, users may register with NSIDC User Services.
NSIDC AGDC Releases New Data Sets
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center at NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of new data sets related to the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
- Modeled Radar Attenuation Rate Profile at the Vostok 5G Ice Core Site, Antarctica (NSIDC-0501)
- GPS-Measured Ice Velocities and Strain Data from the Ross and Amundsen Sea Ice Flow Divide, West Antarctica (NSIDC-0503)
- Polarimetric Radar Data from the Ross and Amundsen Sea Ice Flow Divide, West Antarctica (NSIDC-0496)
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery catalog page.
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images catalog page.
NASA IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data for 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data catalog page.
NASA IceBridge BGM-3 Gravimeter L2 Geolocated Free Air Anomalies Data for 2009 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge BGM-3 Gravimeter L2 Geolocated Free Air Anomalies data for 2009 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge BGM-3 Gravimeter L2 Geolocated Free Air Anomalies catalog page.
Call for NSIDC DAAC Data User Feedback
In September 2011, all registered NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) data users will receive an e-mail invitation from the Claes Fornell International (CFI) Group on behalf of NASA to participate in a Web-based survey about the quality and utility of NSIDC DAAC products and services. It takes approximately 10 minutes to complete this anonymous survey, and optional comment fields are provided to address your specific concerns. The NSIDC DAAC is one of twelve NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers to be evaluated by this survey.
Thank you in advance. Your feedback will help us to better serve our data user community.
If you would like to participate but are not a registered user of NSIDC DAAC data products, please contact the CFI Group at nasasurvey@cfigroup.com.
Inferred Accumulation Rate Data from Antarctica Now Available
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC has released a new data set, Millennially Averaged Accumulation Rates for Lake Vostok. This data set consists of accumulation rates, inferred from radar data from three layers (26, 35 and 41 thousand years old) in the Vostok Subglacial Lake region.
ICESat/GLAS Release-33 Data Now Available: Laser 3A
The ICESat Science Investigator-led Processing System (I-SIPS) Team has begun reprocessing GLAS data to Release-33. ICESat/GLAS Release-33 data for the Laser 3A campaign (03 October 2004 to 08 November 2004) are now available for all GLAS products (GLA01 to GLA15). NSIDC will continue to receive other laser campaigns for Release-33 until they are all reprocessed. Until all campaigns are reprocessed, Release-31 and Release-33 will be available from NSIDC.
For more information about all of the Release-33 changes, see the ICESat/GLAS Data Releases Web page, or contact NSIDC User Services if you have any questions. For more information about ICESat/GLAS data, including ordering options, see the ICESat/GLAS Web page.
Historical IPY Data Catalog Now Available
NOAA@NSIDC and the Roger G. Barry Resource Office for Cryospheric Studies (ROCS) are pleased to announce the launch of the ROCS Archives Catalog; and with this, the completion of the International Polar Year Historical Data and Literature project - formerly known as DAHLI. Over 800 digital items (photographs, data charts, publications/literature, audio files, and even a video) relating to the first two International Polar Years (IPY) 1882-83 and 1932-33 and the International Geophysical Year (IGY) 1957-58 reside in this public, searchable catalog, most of which are available for download. To search and access the collection, see the International Polar Year Historical Data and Literature web page.
NSIDC Releases Enhanced SSM/I and AMSR-E Brightness Temperatures
A new data set is available at NSIDC, the Enhanced-Resolution SSM/I and AMSR-E Daily Polar Brightness Temperatures. Brightness temperatures obtained by the SSM/I and AMSR-E instruments were enhanced using the Scatterometer Image Reconstruction (SIR) algorithm, and are provided in three equal-area spatial coverages: Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, and full global. Daily SSM/I images are available from 1995 through 2008, and twice-daily AMSR-E images are available from 2002 through 2009. For documentation and access to the data, please see the product catalog page.
NASA IceBridge POS/AV L1B Data for Greenland 2011 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data for Greenland 2011 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data catalog page.
New EASE-Grid SSM/I-SSMIS Brightness Temperatures Available
Updated EASE-Grid SSM/I-SSMIS data are now available at NSIDC. This semi-quarterly update extends the time series of the DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures data set through 27 April 2011. The SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid brightness temperatures are available in all three EASE-Grid projections: north, south, and global.
AGDC releases new ice shelf data set
The NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) has released a new data set, MOA-derived Structural Feature Map of the Ronne Ice Shelf. This data set provides a structural feature map of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica (also known as the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf).
NASA IceBridge Geometrics 823A Cesium Magnetometer L2 Geolocated Magnetic Anomalies for 2009 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Geometrics 823A Cesium Magnetometer L2 Geolocated Magnetic Anomalies data for 2009 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Geometrics 823A Cesium Magnetometer L2 Geolocated Magnetic Anomalies catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles for 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
AMSR-E Sea Ice Drift Data Now Available from NSIDC
NSIDC has released a new sea ice data set, the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km Sea Ice Drift Polar Grids. This Level-3 gridded product includes sea ice speed and direction generated by applying the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) wavelet transform algorithm to AMSR-E brightness temperatures. As this is a beta-level product, further development and updates to the algorithm are anticipated. Daily drift data are averaged over five-day intervals and are mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 6.25 km spatial resolution. Data are currently available from 01 June 2011 through the present. For further details and ordering options, see the product catalog page.
A Delivered Algorithm Package (DAP) is also available for this product. If you are interested in receiving the DAP or have any other questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Image-Derived Antarctic Grounding Line Data Now Available from NSIDC AGDC
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC has released a new data set, High-resolution Image-derived Grounding and Hydrostatic Lines for the Antarctic Ice Sheet, NSIDC-0489. The data set provides grounding line and hydrostatic line locations for the Antarctic coastline and islands around Antarctica. The data are derived using customized software to combine data from Landsat-7 imagery and Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) laser altimetry, which were primarily collected between 1999 to 2003. For more information on AGDC data, see the AGDC Web site.
Kamb Ice Stream Strain Survey Data Now Available from NSIDC AGDC
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC has released a new data set, Grounding Line Strain Grid Surveys, Kamb Ice Stream, Antarctica, NSIDC-0494. The data set provides the results of a field survey conducted in 2006 and 2007. For more information on AGDC data, see the AGDC Web site.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges catalog page.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles Data for 2011 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles quicklook data for 2011 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data for 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies Data for 2010 Antarctica, and Revised 2009 Antarctica Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies Data for 2010 Antarctica and revised data for 2009 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies Data catalog page.
Sea Ice Thickness Field Measurements Available
In cooperation with the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska, NOAA@NSIDC is providing an access point and standard metadata for the Sea Ice Experiment: Dynamic Nature of the Arctic (SEDNA) project. The SEDNA data collection is unique in that several ice thickness data sets were inter-calibrated and coordinated with monitoring of the ice pack strain-rate (horizontal deformation) and measurements of internal ice stress. This experiment was designed to improve our understanding of the relationship between sea ice thickness and dynamics. For more information and to access the data, see the SEDNA: Sea ice Experiment - Dynamic Nature of the Arctic summary page.
NASA IceBridge Sigma Space Prototype L0 Raw Time-of-Flight Data for 2009 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Sigma Space Prototype L0 Raw Time-of-Flight Data for 2009 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Sigma Space Prototype L0 Raw Time-of-Flight Data catalog page.
DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures Updated
NSIDC is pleased to announce that the DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures data set has been updated. This quarterly update extends the time series of the data set through 31 March 2011. Both the data and associated documentation are available via the product catalog page. For assistance, please contact NSIDC User Services.
NASA IceBridge Riegl Laser Altimeter L0 Raw Ranges Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Riegl Laser Altimeter L0 Raw Ranges data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Riegl Laser Altimeter L0 Raw Ranges catalog page.
NSIDC IceBridge Data Portal Now Available
The initial release of the data portal provides access to all Operation IceBridge flight reports and map-based visualization of Greenland flight tracks. Using spatial and temporal filters, you can easily visualize flight tracks, review specific details of the flights, and download the full reports. Upcoming releases will enable access to all flight tracks and the data collected on the flights. To use the portal, go to the IceBridge Data Portal Interface.
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Data for Greenland 2010 and Greenland 2009 Update Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. Also, as of June 10, 2011, the 2009 Greenland binary (*.bin) files were replaced. The GPS time written in the headers of the previously published binary files contained an error. The error is corrected in the current files. If you downloaded the 2009 Greenland data prior to June 10, 2011, we suggest you re-download the *.bin files. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge L0 Raw Kinematics GPS Time Codes Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge L0 Raw Kinematics GPS Time Codes data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge L0 Raw Kinematics GPS Time Codes catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Geometrics 823A Cesium Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Geometrics 823A Cesium Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Geometrics 823A Cesium Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Flux Gate Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Flux Gate Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Flux Gate Magnetometer L0 Raw Magnetic Field catalog page.
WAIS Divide Ice Core Methane Data Now Available from NSIDC AGDC
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC has released a new data set, Methane Concentration and Chronology from the WAIS Divide Ice Core (WDC05A), NSIDC-0493. For more information on AGDC data, see the AGDC Web site.
NASA IceBridge BGM-3 Gravimeter L0 Raw Accelerations Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge BGM-3 Gravimeter L0 Raw Accelerations data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge BGM-3 Gravimeter L0 Raw Accelerations catalog page.
NASA IceBridge HiCARS 1 L2 Geolocated Ice Thickness Data for 2009 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge HiCARS 1 Level-2 Geolocated Ice Thickness data for 2009 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge HiCARS 1 L2 Geolocated Ice Thickness catalog page.
Updated AMSR-E/Aqua Brightness Temperatures Available
Both the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily Global Quarter-Degree Gridded Brightness Temperatures data sets have been updated. This quarterly update extends the time series of both data sets through 31 March 2011. AMSR-E brightness temperatures are available in all three EASE-Grid projections (north, south, and global), as well as global, quarter-degree latitude-longitude gridded data.
NASA IceBridge GPS L0 Raw Satellite Navigation Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge GPS L0 Raw Satellite Navigation Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge GPS L0 Raw Satellite Navigation Data catalog page.
NASA IceBridge INS L0 Raw Inertial Navigation System Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge INS L0 Raw Inertial Navigation System Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge INS L0 Raw Inertial Navigation System Data catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Paroscientific S-1000 L0 Pressure Altimeter Raw Air Pressure Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Paroscientific S-1000 L0 Pressure Altimeter Raw Air Pressure data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Paroscientific S-1000 L0 Pressure Altimeter Raw Air Pressure catalog page.
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS 2010 Antarctica L2 and Reprocessed L1B Data Now Available at NSIDC
2010 Antarctica MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness data, and reprocessed 2010 Antarctica IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data are now available from NSIDC. The original 2010 L1B Antarctica data were processed through a temporary process with quick look data products only. V01.1 2010 L1B Antarctica data are produced from full Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles and IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Ice Thickness Data catalog pages.
NSIDC Web Site and FTP Service Interruption
On Wednesday, May 18 from 5:30 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. (USA Mountain Time) NSIDC's Web site (http://nsidc.org) and FTP server (ftp://sidads.colorado.edu) will be unavailable due to system maintenance.
Daily EASE-Grid SSMIS Brightness Temperatures Now Available
NSIDC is pleased to announce that the DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperature data for 14 December 2006 through 31 December 2010 are now available.
This update includes many new features, as described in the data set documentation, and new data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-17 satellite. Because the Backus-Gilbert interpolation method is not yet compatible with the SSMIS sensor, NSIDC changed the gridding process to use the Inverse Distance Squared method and completed an intercomparison of F-13 data with F-17 data. To accommodate the sensor and interpolation changes, F-17 data are considered Version 2 (V2), which is reflected in the filenames. Lastly, the data reflect a large overlap time period between the SSM/I and SSMIS sensors from December 2006 to April 2009 so that users may conduct their own analyses on the data differences.
Geolocation and display tools are available for this data set from the EASE-Grid Data Geolocation Tools Web page.
Please also note the new FTP location for this data set. We welcome your questions at NSIDC User Services.
Preliminary Level-3 AMSR-E Data to be Discontinued
On 02 May 2011, NSIDC will discontinue distribution of Preliminary Level-3 AMSR-E data. Users who require AMSR-E data sooner than the four-day latency offered by our standard AMSR-E science products can now access near-real-time AMSR-E data through the NASA Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) data system at the AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS). For more information and to register for near-real-time AMSR-E data, visit the LANCE Web site. Please contact NSIDC User Services if you have questions.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges Data for 2009 Greenland and 2010 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges data for 2009 Greenland and 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Data for 2010 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Reprocessed DMS L1B 2009 Antarctica Data Now Available at NSIDC
Reprocessed 2009 Antarctica IceBridge NASA DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images are now available from NSIDC. On April 13, 2011, V01 2009 Antarctica DMS data were replaced by V01.1. The V01 2009 Antarctica DMS data required re-processing because the data were projected using the SRTMplus Digital Elevation Model (DEM). This DEM references the sea floor for all non-terrestrial locations. In addition, during re-processing, a more refined boresight model was employed and provides a more accurate attitude reference. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge NASA DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images catalog page.
Beta Release of New Search Tool, Reverb
Reverb, a new tool for searching and ordering data from NSIDC and other NASA data centers, is now available. Easily discover and access earth science data with a refreshing new view of data sets and granules. Built by ECHO, the Earth Observing System (EOS) Clearing House, Reverb not only accesses the full collection of NSIDC data sets, but each granule that the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool (WIST) currently finds. To explore the new interface and offer your valuable feedback, visit the Reverb interface Web page.
CMC Snow Depth Analysis Data Now Available for 2010
The Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) Daily Snow Depth Analysis data set now includes daily and monthly data, as well as monthly climatologies, for 2010. For documentation and access to data, please refer to the product catalog page.
NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images 2010 Antarctica Data Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images data for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images catalog page.
NASA IceBridge ATM L1B and ATM L2 2010 Antarctica Data Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength and IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness data for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength and IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness catalog pages.
New CollectionCaster Tool Launched
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has launched the CollectionCaster, a new Web-based tool that uses a collection casting process to help scientists advertise their data sets or collections. Collection Casting helps users and computers connected to the internet discover data quickly and more efficiently using ATOM feeds that can be viewed with any desktop or browser-based feed reader. More details about the CollectionCaster tool are available at http://nsidc.org/libre/. The CollectionCaster is one of the latest data tools created by NSIDC's Libre project. The Libre project was created to help liberate science data from its traditional constraints of publication, location, and findability. Support for the Libre project is provided by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
NASA Pre-IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles Data Set Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA Pre-IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles data set is now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the NASA Pre-IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles catalog page.
NSIDC's Computing Center Shutting Down for Five Days to Become More Green
The National Snow and Ice Data Center, through a grant from the National Science Foundation, is modifying its facility to become one of the most energy -efficient data centers in the United States. As a part of this effort, NSIDC will shut down our computing center from Wednesday, 30 March through Sunday, 3 April to accommodate construction. The NSIDC Web site will be available intermittently during this time, providing data documentation and other information. However, access to all NSIDC data and online services will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience the limited access may cause you.
New Photos Added to the Glacier Photo Collection
Photographs of glaciers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica have been added to the Glacier Photo Collection. While the valleys themselves are notably ice-free, a number of glaciers terminate in the valleys, some acting as outlets to the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Studies show that the majority of the glaciers in this area are receding. Glaciers were photographed in the course of geologic studies and help document the conditions of the glaciers and how they may have changed. To view the photos, see the Glacier Photo Collection Search & Order Interface.
NOAA@NSIDC Team Member Attends Meeting about Finding Sea Surface Temperature Near the Sea Ice Edge
NOAA, the European Space Agency, NASA, and several other agencies sponsor the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) to work on improving the quality, timeliness, and accessibility of sea surface temperature (SST) fields. Data assembly centers construct these fields and need daily high-resolution sea ice extent as input data in order to arrive at accurate SST in and near the ice edge. NOAA@NSIDC's Florence Fetterer spoke on using Multisensor Analyzed Sea Ice Extent (MASIE) data as an alternative to satellite passive microwave-derived ice extent fields at the GHRSST High Latitude Working Group meeting held in Boulder, Colorado from March 1 - 2. For more information about GHRSST, visit the GHRSST Web site. For more information about MASIE, see the MASIE Web site.
NASA IceBridge Accumulation Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data Set Now Available at NSIDC
The IceBridge Accumulation Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data set is now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Accumulation Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NSIDC Releases the Services for Analysis of the Greenland Environment (SAGE) Tool
NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of the Services for Analysis of the Greenland Environment (SAGE) tool. SAGE adds analysis capabilities and a unique interface for specific Greenland data sets. It is a tool designed to help scientists access, integrate, and analyze data related to the history and status of Greenland's ice sheet in real time using timeseries, scatterplot, histogram, and box and whisker plots. Try SAGE today and see how it can save you time and effort creating meaningful plots for your research.
New Permafrost Data Set and Associated Education Activity Published
A new data set called Soil Temperature Station Data from Permafrost Regions of Russia (Selection of Five Stations), 1880s - 2000 has been published along with an educational classroom activity for K-12 students and teachers. This data set includes soil temperature data from boreholes and air temperature data located at five stations in Russia. This data set has also been incorporated into an educational classroom activity, How Permanent is Permafrost?, that helps to explore the relationship between surface air temperature and permafrost (soil) temperature. For more information and to obtain the data, see the Soil Temperature Station Data from Permafrost Regions of Russia (Selection of Five Stations), 1880s - 2000 Web page. To see the classroom activity, see the How Permanent is Permafrost? Web page.
NOAA@NSIDC Team Member Attends SCICEX SAC Meeting
NOAA@NSIDC project manager, Ann Windnagel, attended the SCICEX Science Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting that took place January 26 - 28, 2011 in Washington D.C. The purpose of the meeting was to set the stage for Part II of the science plan and to outline the needs and plan for program sustainment. Ann Windnagel gave a presentation on NOAA@NSIDC's efforts on rescuing and archiving the historic SCICEX data over the past year. For more information about SCICEX, see the NOAA@NSIDC SCICEX Web page.
NASA IceBridge Mission Flight Reports Data Set Now Available at NSIDC
The NASA IceBridge Mission Flight Reports data set is now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access flight reports, see the IceBridge Mission Flight Reports catalog page.
New F17 Brightness Temperatures Available
Brightness Temperatures from the F17 satellite are now available for the DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures data set, and span the period 14 December 2006 through 19 August 2010. This recently updated data set, now at Version 4, includes brightness temperatures obtained by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F17 (DMSP-F17) satellite.
With SSMIS, a new 91.7 GHz high-resolution channel replaces the 85.5 GHz channel of the former SSM/I instrument. NSIDC has analyzed the intercalibrated SSM/I and SSMIS data for a complete intercomparison of the F13 and F17 brightness temperatures. For more details and data access, refer to the product summary Web page.
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B and DMS L0 2010 Antarctica Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS Level-1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images and DMS Level-0 Raw Imagery for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS Level-1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Image catalog page, and the IceBridge DMS Level-0 Raw Imagery catalog page.
Updated AMSR-E Brightness Temperatures Available
On 26 January 2011, the AMSR-E/Aqua L2A Global Swath Spatially-Resampled Brightness Temperatures were updated to V11 (Validated 11 - Stage 3). This update accommodates the production and distribution of near-real-time AMSR-E data through the NASA Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) system. These data are indicated by a new product maturity code, R, for near-real-time data. As no science algorithm changes were made, past data will not be reprocessed. For details regarding AMSR-E data versions and ordering options, please refer to the AMSR-E/Aqua Data Web site.
A new Delivered Algorithm Package (DAP) is available for the updated product. If you would like a DAP or have any questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
New Iceberg Data Available from NSIDC AGDC
The NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) has released the data set, Climate, Drift, and Image Data from Antarctic Icebergs A22A and UK211, 2006-2007. The data set includes recordings from specialized weather stations on two icebergs, A22A and UK211 (nicknamed Amigosberg), near Marambio Station in Antarctica, collected in 2006 and 2007.
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles 2010 Antarctica Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for 2010 Antarctica are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data for 2009 and 2010 Antarctica and Greenland Campaigns Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data are now available for all IceBridge 2009 and 2010 Greenland and Antarctic campaigns. As of 25 January 2011, these data have been updated to Version 01.1 to reflect a change in the data source.
Data that were previously available for this data set for the 2009 Greenland and Antarctic campaigns were obtained from the Applanix System connected to the ATM instrument. There were no problems with the ATM version of the data, but the data were only available for flights on which ATM was operational. Version 01.1 contains POS/AV data collected by the Applanix System connected to the DMS instrument. The DMS version is now in use for the sake of completion across all instruments. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data catalog page.
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges data for 2009 Antarctica and 2010 Greenland Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges data for 2009 Antarctica and 2010 Greenland are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L0 Raw Ranges catalog page.
Preliminary NASA IceBridge LVIS Level-1B Data for Antarctica and Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
Preliminary NASA IceBridge LVIS L1B Geolocated Return Energy Waveforms data for Antarctica and Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. The current data set contains one file for 2009 Greenland and one file for 2009 Antarctica. Remaining campaign files will be made available soon. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L1B Geolocated Return Energy Waveforms catalog page.
NASA IceBridge ATM Icessn and ATM Qfit Data for Greenland 2010 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge ATM Icessn and ATM Qfit data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. Previously provided data were for the IceBridge CryoSat-2 underflight on 20 April 2010 only. The data sets are now complete, however, data for 24 March, 20 April, and 12 May 2010 currently are not available due to issues with aircraft attitude (pitch, roll, and heading) measured by several INS units onboard the aircraft. For documentation, and to access the data, see the catalog pages for IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness, and IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength.
2010 [top]
A Better Daily Ice Edge: MASIE-NH Released
NSIDC and the U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) are pleased to announce a new daily sea ice analysis product: The Multisensor Analyzed Sea Ice Extent - Northern Hemisphere (MASIE-NH). NIC analysts produce an Arctic-wide sea ice and snow extent map drawing on a multitude of data sources. The gridded 4-km product locates the ice edge with much greater accuracy than daily products based on single-source satellite data. Working with NIC, NSIDC developed MASIE-NH to meet a need for a more accurate daily product that is easy to use like the Sea Ice Index.
The Sea Ice Index has both a monthly and a daily product. We recommend using the monthly product when a long time series and consistent processing are important as they would be for climatological studies. However, if it is important to know where the ice is recently, on a daily time scale, we recommend using the MASIE product.
MASIE lets you view and download:
- Northern Hemisphere-wide sea ice coverage for latest day and the last four weeks
- Sea ice coverage by region
- A file of sea ice extent in sq km for the entire Northern Hemisphere and by region for the last four weeks, updated daily
The MASIE-NH products are distributed in a number of formats including ASCII text, GeoTIFF, PNG, shapefiles, and Google Earth files and are available for the previous four weeks (28 days). MASIE was developed with support from NIC and the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office. Distribution by NOAA@NSIDC is made possible by support from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). For more information on this new product and to download data, see the MASIE-NH Web site.
December 13 2010: IICWG Meeting Presentations Available
Documents and presentations from the 11th meeting of the International Ice Charting Working Group (IICWG) are available from the IICWG Meetings Web page. To view documents, click on the Meeting Documents link under the Eleventh IICWG Meeting heading; and to view the presentations, click on the Meeting Presentations link. NOAA@NSIDC hosts the IICWG Web site in order to strengthen ties between operations and research.
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery Data for Greenland 2010 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery catalog page.
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Data for Greenland 2010 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images catalog page.
xNASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images for Greenland 2010 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Atmospheric Chemistry L1B Data Now Available via NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Atmospheric Chemistry L1B Data for Antarctica 2009 are now available via NSIDC as brokered data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL). For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Atmospheric Chemistry L1B Data catalog page.
New Antarctic data available from NSIDC AGDC
The NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) has released the data set, Radar Studies of Internal Stratigraphy and Bed Topography along the US ITASE-II Traverse (NSIDC-0475). The data set contain ice penetrating radar data from the US-International Trans-Antarctic Science Expedition (ITASE) Traverse, from Taylor Dome to South Pole recorded by the St. Olaf College deep radar system.
NASA IceBridge UAF Lidar Scanner L1B Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets data for Alaska 2010 are now available at NSIDC.
For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge UAF Lidar Scanner L1B Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets catalog page.
NASA Preliminary IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge preliminary Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. The Greenland 2010 data currently contain preliminary Ku-Band radar data for the IceBridge CryoSat-2 underflight on 20 April 2010. The preliminary data will be replaced with the fully processed data in the near future. For documentation, and to access the data, see the catalog page for IceBridge Ku-Band Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles.
NASA IceBridge UAF Lidar Profiler L1B Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge UAF Lidar Profiler L1B Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets data for Alaska 2009 are now available at NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge UAF Lidar Profiler L1B Geolocated Surface Elevation Triplets catalog page.
NOAA Team Member Gave Talk at GSA
NOAA@NSIDC project manager Lisa Ballagh gave an invited talk at the Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Denver. The talk was titled Maps, Maps And More Maps: Three Approaches To Reach The Masses (.pptx, 5.5 MB) and described how Google Earth, Web Map Services, and GeoRSS can enhance a collection by depicting news on maps, visualizations on maps, and interoperability via maps. Coauthors were John Cartwright, with NOAA NGDC, and Allaina Wallace, NSIDC archivist.
The Google Earth Blog featured the Sea ice Index
The NSIDC Sea Ice Index was featured in Google Earth's Blog: The Amazing Things About Google Earth. The blog post titled, "Sea Ice Extent Animation updated for 2010", was posted on October 12, 2010 and details the 2010 update NSIDC made to their Sea Ice Index Google Earth file. To read the blog, visit Google Earth's Blog site.
Update to AGDC Data Set: ICESat-Derived Grounding Zone for Antarctic Ice Shelves
The AGDC data set, ICESat-Derived Grounding Zone for Antarctic Ice Shelves, has been updated because of an interpolation problem. If you have questions, please contact NSIDC User Services at nsidc@nsidc.org or +1 303.492.6199.
New RSS Data Feed Available for AMSR-E and MODIS Products
Data users can now subscribe to receive new AMSR-E and MODIS data via an RSS data feed as soon as they are ingested at NSIDC. Each RSS feed entry includes a direct link to the data and corresponding metadata within the NSIDC FTP site. For more information about the NSIDC data products currently served by the RSS data feed, and to subscribe, please refer to the following product summary pages:
AMSR-E/Aqua L2B Global Swath
Ocean Products derived from Wentz Algorithm
MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km, Version 5
The RSS data feed serving these products was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) under the NASA JPL Datacasting project. For more information about data casting, including feed reader and publisher guides, visit the JPL Datacasting: Earth Science Meets RSS Web site.
NOAA@NSIDC Team Lead Gave Talk at IICWG Meeting XI
At the IICWG Science Day on October 26, NOAA@NSIDC lead Florence Fetterer spoke on NOAA's Arctic Sea Ice Forecasting Activities, Research & Priorities with coauthors Janet Intrieri (NOAA ESRL) and John Calder (NOAA Arctic Research Program). The talk aimed to contribute to discussion on focusing research to help meet the growing demands placed on the ice services.
Updated L2 AMSR-E Data Released, Available Sooner
Updated Level-2 Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) data products were released by the AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) on 20 October 2010. These products were updated to add a new product maturity code, R, for near-real-time data. The SIPS included the new product maturity code for the production and distribution of near-real-time AMSR-E data via the NASA Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability (LANCE) data system. As no science algorithm changes were made, past data will not be reprocessed. The following products have been updated, and the latest algorithm version is listed:
AMSR-E/Aqua L2B Surface Soil
Moisture, Ancillary Parms, & QC EASE-Grids
Algorithm: Validated 10 - Stage 1
AMSR-E/Aqua L2B Global Swath
Rain Rate/Type GSFC Profiling Algorithm
Algorithm: Validated 11 - Stage 2
AMSR-E/Aqua L2B Global Swath
Ocean Products derived from Wentz Algorithm
Algorithm: Validated 07 - Stage 2
NSIDC is also pleased to announce that, with this update, AMSR-E Level-2 products will now be available with latency reduced from five days to 20 hours from the time of observation. Quality Assurance files (QA), Production History (PH), and browse imagery are also available for ordering. For details regarding AMSR-E data versions and ordering options, please refer to the AMSR-E/Aqua Data Web site.
New Delivered Algorithm Packages (DAPs) are available for the updated products. If you are interested in receiving a DAP or have any other questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
IICWG News Release
The International Ice Chart Working Group (IICWG) concluded a successful 11th meeting the week of October 18 in Washington DC. The group discussed ice modelling and forecasting; and topics for the meeting centered around short term ice forecasting research, forecasting compressive forces in pack ice, and identifying and tracking ice object movement to name a few. After the meeting, the IICWG warned "that sea ice and icebergs continue to present significant hazards to navigation and other maritime activities. It strongly supports the continued development of the International Maritime Organization's Polar Code for improved safety of ship operations." To read the full news release, see the following: National Ice Services Warn of Continuing Hazards to Navigation in the Polar Seas (PDF, 122 KB). For additional information about the IICWG, visit the International Ice Chart Working Group Web site.
MEaSUREs Global Record of Daily Landscape Freeze/Thaw Status, Version 01 Data Set Released
NSIDC has released MEaSUREs Global Record of Daily Landscape Freeze/Thaw Status, Version 01 (NSIDC-0477). This data set provides a global record of daily freeze/thaw status from 1988 to 2007. The data set is based on data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I).
New Data from NSIDC AGDC
The NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) has released Borehole Optical Stratigraphy Modeling, Antarctica (NSIDC-0468). The data set consists of scripts and code designed for modeling the properties of boreholes in polar ice sheets, under a range of variations in the borehole geometry, firn layering, and camera pointing and position.
MEaSUREs Greenland Ice Sheet Velocity Map from InSAR Data Released
NSIDC has released MEaSUREs Greenland Ice Sheet Velocity Map from InSAR Data (NSIDC-0478). This data set, part of the NASA Making Earth Science Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) Project, provides velocity data for the Greenland Ice Sheet. Data are currently available for the 2000-2001 and 2005-2006 boreal summers.
Greenland 2010 NASA IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data catalog page.
Power Outage at Goddard Causes MODIS Data Loss
Due to a power outage at the Goddard Space Flight Facility on 22 September 2010, there were satellite data losses for the MODIS/Terra and MODIS/Aqua sea ice and snow products during the following time periods:
- Terra: DOY266 01:10 - DOY266 03:15
- Aqua: DOY265 23:25 - DOY266 00:55.
Attempts to recover the data were unsuccessful.
Preliminary Level-2 AMSR-E Data to be Discontinued, Standard Level-2 AMSR-E Data Available Sooner
Preliminary Level-2 Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) data will be discontinued on 18 October 2010. Beginning on this date, the latency of standard Level-2 AMSR-E science products will be reduced from five days to 20 hours from the time of observation. This reduction will make the standard Level-2 AMSR-E science product available to users with approximately the same latency that the preliminary Level-2 product currently provides. In addition, NSIDC will continue to distribute preliminary Level-3 AMSR-E data.
Affected Level-2 AMSR-E products include:
AMSR-E/Aqua
L2A Global Swath Spatially-Resampled Brightness Temperatures (Tb)
AMSR-E/Aqua
L2B Surface Soil Moisture, Ancillary Parms, & QC EASE-Grids
AMSR-E/Aqua
L2B Global Swath Rain Rate/Type GSFC Profiling Algorithm
AMSR-E/Aqua
L2B Global Swath Ocean Products derived from Wentz Algorithm
Preliminary Level-2 AMSR-E data users will need to select a new data stream depending on their application or research requirements. Users who require research-quality products can use the standard Level-2 AMSR-E science products distributed at NSIDC, which can be downloaded directly from the NSIDC Data Pool.
Users who require AMSR-E data sooner than the 20-hour latency offered by the standard science product can now access near-real-time AMSR-E data distributed at NASA via the Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) data system. Near-real-time Level-2 AMSR-E data are available through LANCE with a latency of three hours from the time of observation. For more information and to register for near-real-time data, please visit the LANCE AMSR-E Web site.
If you have questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
New DataViewer Tool for NSIDC Passive Microwave Data Sets
Interactive Data Language (IDL) expert, David Fanning, has created a new tool for NSIDC, called the NSIDC DataViewer, that allows data users to conveniently view, display, and manipulate satellite images in a user-defined grid. The tool can be used with a variety of NSIDC passive microwave data sets ranging from brightness temperatures to sea ice motion vectors, and in three different projections, including Polar Stereographic, EASE-Grid, and Quarter-Degree.
Up to 64 images can be displayed simultaneously in the DataViewer resizeable graphics window, allowing data users to page through a series of images. Images can then be scaled and manipulated either individually or as a group. By moving the cursor over an image, a data user can obtain the latitude and longitude coordinates as well as the image value at the cursor location. After an image or series of images is manipulated, the contents of the graphics window(s) can be saved in a variety of image formats, including PostScript, PNG, JPEG, and TIFF.
The NSIDC DataViewer can be run in IDL with an IDL license, via the freely distributed IDL Virtual Machine, or as a run-time application. The NSIDC DataViewer is available via FTP in both Windows- and UNIX-compatible versions: dataviewer.zip and dataviewer.tar.gz, respectively.
NASA Pre-IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness Data Now Available at NSIDC
NASA Pre-IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness data for Arctic, Greenland, and Antarctic areas are now available from NSIDC for periodic campaigns from June 1993 to August 2008. For documentation, and to access the data, see the Pre-IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV Data for Greenland 2010 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV Data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Free Air Gravity Anomalies catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar Data for 20 April 2010 CryoSat-2 Underflight Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar Greenland data for the 20 April 2010 CryoSat-2 underflight are now available from NSIDC. Due to the interest in the CryoSat-2 underflight, data for 20 April 2010 are provided in advance of the full Greenland 2010 Snow Radar Level-1B data set. For documentation, and to access the data, see the catalog page for IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles.
NASA IceBridge ATM Icessn, ATM Qfit, and CAMBOT Data for 2009 Antarctica Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness data, ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength data, and CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images are now available for 2009 Antarctica from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness catalog page, the IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength catalog page, and the IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated Images catalog page.
Barnes Ice Cap South Dome Data Set Published
NOAA@NSIDC has published a new data set that provides measurements of mass balance, surface velocity, and surface elevation of the South Dome of Barnes Ice Cap. The data set, Barnes Ice Cap South Dome Trilateration Net Survey Data 1970-1984, contains survey measurements of a network of 43 stakes along a 10 km flow line on the northeast flank of the south dome of the Barnes Ice Cap. For more information and to access the data, see the Barnes Ice Cap South Dome Trilateration Net Survey Data 1970-1984 Web page.
Updated Level-3 AMSR-E Products Released
Updated Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Level-3 data products were released by the AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) on 27 August 2010. These products were updated to add a new product maturity code, R, for near-real-time data. The SIPS included the new product maturity code to prepare for the upcoming production and distribution of near-real-time AMSR-E data via the Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) data system. As no science algorithm changes were made, past data will not be reprocessed. Updated products, and the latest algorithm versions, are as follows:
Land
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Surface Soil Moisture, Interpretive
Params, & QC EASE-Grids (AE_Land3)
Algorithm: Validated 7 - Stage 1
Ocean
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25
deg Ocean Grids (AE_DyOcn)
AMSR-E/Aqua Weekly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids
(AE_WkOcn)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean
Grids (AE_MoOcn)
Algorithm: Validated 5 - Stage 2
Snow
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids
(AE_DySno)
AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DSno)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
Algorithm: Validated 10 - Stage 1
In addition, Quality Assurance (QA) files, Production History (PH) files, and browse imagery are now available for ordering. For more information regarding AMSR-E data versions and ordering options, please refer to the AMSR-E Data Web site.
New Delivered Algorithm Packages (DAPs) are also available for the updated products. If you are interested in receiving a DAP or have additional questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
AMSR-E Sea Ice Products Updated, Concentration Difference Corrected
New versions of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Level-3 sea ice data products were released by the AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) on 27 August 2010. These products were updated to Validated 13, Stage 1 to add a new product maturity code, R, for near-real-time data. The new product maturity code was included to accommodate the production of near-real-time AMSR-E data by the SIPS through the Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) in the near future.
The update to the AMSR-E 12.5 km sea ice product also corrects an issue in the previous production code, V12, that introduced a new value in the sea ice concentration difference field when data from the Bootstrap Basic Algorithm (BBA) were missing. The value was -310; the standard value when BBA data are missing is -200 to -300. Past data will not be reprocessed, so users should be aware of this issue when working with data prior to 27 August 2010.
In addition to updated products, the quality assurance (QA) files, production history (PH) files, and browse imagery are now available for ordering. Further details regarding AMSR-E data versions and ordering options are available on the AMSR-E Data Web site.
New Delivered Algorithm Packages (DAPs) are also available for the updated products. If you are interested in receiving a DAP or have any other questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
NSIDC Welcomes Data Users to the NASA A-Train Symposium
Representatives from NSIDC will be attending the 2010 International Symposium on the A-Train Satellite Constellation in New Orleans, Louisiana USA from 25-28 October 2010. The symposium will include a user workshop on 25 October, which will focus on instrument data products and their use, followed by the three-day symposium to be held 26-28 October. Registration is free, and the deadline to submit an abstract is 10 September 2010. For further details, please visit the NASA A-Train Symposium Web page.
BNASA IceBridge Preliminary ATM Icessn and ATM Qfit Data for Greenland 2010 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge preliminary ATM Icessn and ATM Qfit data for Greenland 2010 are now available from NSIDC. The Greenland 2010 data currently contain preliminary ATM Level-2 Icessn and ATM Level-1B Qfit data for the IceBridge CryoSat-2 underflight on 20 April 2010. The preliminary data will be replaced with the fully processed data in the near future. For documentation, and to access the data, see the catalog pages for IceBridge ATM L2 Icessn Elevation, Slope, and Roughness and IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength.
Borehole Inventory Data Set Published
NOAA@NISDC has published a new data set that is an inventory of a network of boreholes equipped for long-term permafrost temperature observations. The data set, IPA-IPY Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) Snapshot Borehole Inventory, Version 1.0, consists of an inventory of boreholes established during the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007 - 2009 by the International Permafrost Association (IPA) under the Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) Project #50. The TSP project goals included the acquisition of standardized temperature measurements (snapshots) from all permafrost regions on Earth, preparation of a global data set, and development of maps of contemporary permafrost temperatures. For more information and to access the inventory, see the IPA-IPY Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) Snapshot Borehole Inventory, Version 1.0 Web page.
NSIDC DAAC Participates in CFI Web-based Survey
In early September 2010, all registered NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) data users will receive an email invitation from the Claes Fornell International (CFI) Group on behalf of NASA to participate in a Web-based survey about the quality and utility of NSIDC DAAC products and services. It takes approximately ten minutes to complete this anonymous questionnaire, and optional comment fields are provided to address your specific concerns. The NSIDC DAAC is one of twelve NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers to be evaluated by this survey.
Thank you in advance. Your feedback will help us better serve our data user community.
If you would like to participate but are not a registered user of NSIDC DAAC data products, please contact the CFI Group.
Arctic Marine Transportation Program Data Set Published
NOAA@NSIDC has published a new data set relevant to developing year-round transportation capabilities in the Arctic Ocean: Arctic Marine Transportation Program 1979-1986. The US Maritime Administration sponsored this multi-year program to define environmental conditions in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas; to obtain data to improve design criteria for ice-worthy ships and offshore structures; and to demonstrate the operational feasibility of commercial icebreaking ships along possible future Arctic marine routes. This data set consists of PDF documents of Arctic Marine Transportation Reports. For more information and to access the reports, see the Arctic Marine Transportation Program 1979-1986 Web page.
NASA IceBridge NSERC L1B Meteorologic Data for Antarctica 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data for Antarctica 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge NSERC L1B Geolocated Meteorologic and Surface Temperature Data catalog page.
NASA IceBridge ATM POS/AV Data for Antarctica and Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge ATM POS/AV L1B Corrected ATM GPS Track and INS Data for Antarctica and Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge ATM POS/AV L1B Corrected ATM GPS Track and INS Data catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Data for Antarctica and Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles data for Antarctica and Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access the data, see the IceBridge Snow Radar L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles catalog page.
Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) Data Inventory Now Available
NOAA@NSIDC has developed and will maintain a data inventory for the Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) program — a US Navy Submarine Arctic Science Program that utilizes nuclear submarines to collect scientific data about the Arctic Ocean. To view the data inventory, see the SCICEX Data section of the NSIDC SCICEX Web site. The site acts as a collection point for past data acquired as part of the SCICEX program. The site also provides background information on the SCICEX program as well as links to SCICEX data, related publications and Web sites, and a link to the newly released SCICEX Phase II Science Plan Part I. NSIDC is actively looking for past SCICEX data. If you have data to contribute, please contact NSIDC SCICEX project manager, Ann Windnagel.
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Data for Antarctica 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery data for Antarctica 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L0 Raw Imagery catalog page.
20 July 2010
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Data for Antarctica 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images data for Antarctica 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge DMS L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images catalog page.
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Data for Antarctica 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge MCoRDS L2 Picked Ice and Bed Surfaces and Ice Thickness data for Antarctica 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the MCoRDS L2 Picked Ice and Bed Surfaces and Ice Thickness catalog page.
DMSP SSM/I Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperature Data Set Updated
The DMSP SSM/I Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures data set has been updated to include data from 01 July 2008 through 29 April 2009. This update includes algorithm changes in the DMSP F-13 input data from Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), NSIDC's source for gridded brightness temperature data. For intercomparison details and more information, refer to the Data Source Version Change section of the data set guide document.
Processing updates for this data set beyond 29 April 2009, however, have been temporarily suspended due to the failure of the DMSP F-13 satellite. NSIDC is working with RSS to acquire data from the DMSP F-17 satellite. Registered data users will be notified when we have received and processed the F-17 data.
Please contact NSIDC User Services with any questions you may have.
NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Data for Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images for Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge CAMBOT L1B Geolocated and Orthorectified Images catalog page.
NASA IceBridge PARIS L2 Ice Thickness Data for Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge PARIS L2 Ice Thickness data for Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge PARIS L2 Ice Thickness catalog page.
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV Data for Antarctica 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Sander Air GRAV Data for Antarctica 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge Sander Air GRAV L1B Geolocated Anomalies catalog page.
NASA IceBridge LVIS Level 2 Data for Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge LVIS Level 2 data for Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge LVIS L2 Geolocated Ground Elevation and Return Energy Quartiles catalog page.
NASA IceBridge ATM Qfit Data for Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge ATM Qfit elevation data for Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge ATM L1B Qfit Elevation and Return Strength catalog page.
NASA IceBridge ATM ICESSN Data for Greenland 2009 Now Available at NSIDC
NASA IceBridge Airborne Topographic Mapper Level 2 (ILATM2) ICESSN data for Greenland 2009 are now available from NSIDC. For documentation, and to access data, see the IceBridge ATM L2 ICESSN catalog page.
AMSR-E Level-3 Ocean Products Updated to V04
AMSR-E Level-3 ocean products have been updated to Validated
4 (V04-Stage 1). The new V04 algorithm incorporates measures to further
reduce Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), and the products now include
an RFI angle grid as a parameter.
AMSR-E Level-3 ocean products include:
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids
AMSR-E/Aqua Weekly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids
NSIDC encourages data users to always work with the latest data (indicated
by the highest version number) available for a given date. The AMSR-E
Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) is currently reprocessing
data from the start of the AMSR-E mission, 19 June 2002, through 28 April
2010. NSIDC will notify users when reprocessing is complete.
More information regarding the updated algorithm is provided on the Data Versions for V002 Web page. A new Delivered Algorithm Package (DAP) is also available for these products by contacting NSIDC User Services. For information about AMSR-E products at NSIDC, please see the AMSR-E/Aqua Data Web site.
500 Photographs Added to the NSIDC Glacier Photograph Collection
The NOAA@NSIDC team has just added 500 glacier photographs to the NSIDC Glacier Photograph Collection that were taken from space. These photographs were taken by astronauts stationed on the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Endeavor between 1994 and the beginning of 2010. The photos were collected in collaboration with The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth project. The goal is to make these photos more widely available and discoverable. To see the new photos, go to the Glacier Photograph Collection Search & Order Interface and search for International Space Station and Space Shuttle Endeavor in the Photographer Name list.
Arctic Marine Transportation Program Data Set Published
The NOAA@NSIDC team has just implemented a new feature for the Glacier Photograph Collection Search & Order Interface. Now, when you pick up your high-resolution photo orders from the FTP site, a metadata file in ASCII text format (.txt) is provided with each photograph. Previously, the metadata had to be downloaded separately from the Glacier Photograph Collection Web site. This new process alleviates that step and streamlines the glacier photo order procedure. The metadata file includes such information as glacier name, location, photographer, and a data citation. To explore this new feature, see the Glacier Photograph Collection Search & Order Interface.
AMSR-E/Aqua Brightness Temperatures Updated
Both the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily Global Quarter-Degree Gridded Brightness Temperatures data sets have been updated. This quarterly update extends the time series of both data sets through 31 March 2010. This includes data in all three EASE-Grid projections (north, south, and global) as well as global quarter-degree latitude-longitude gridded data.
IceBridge Mission Updates via Twitter
NASA provides IceBridge mission updates via Twitter. The updates include timely messages on a variety of topics, such as flights, weather, mapping, and recently acquired images. See NASA IceBridge Twitter to sign up.
Subscribe to the NSIDC RSS for the Latest News on NASA's IceBridge Data
IceBridge Data News is now available from the NSIDC Data News RSS. The NSIDC Data News RSS feed provides news on new NSIDC data products, product updates, and other data announcements. News about IceBridge data is now included in the news feed.
Instrument Data Summaries and Campaign Data Summaries
The IceBridge Data Web site now includes the Instrument Data Summaries page and the Campaign Data Summaries page. The Instrument Data Summaries page lists Operation Ice Bridge instruments with data provider contact information. Links are provided to available data servers.
The Campaign Data Summaries page lists IceBridge data collected by campaign, including date, flight number, location and instruments. Also included are links to Operation Ice Bridge flight documents.
NOAA Data Sets Featured in TakePart.com Article
The NOAA@NSIDC team stewards several data sets that originated with the defense and intelligence services. These data were featured in the TakePart.com article, "Global Warming: The Military's Other Enemy." NOAA@NSIDC Program Manager, Florence Fetterer, and NSIDC Scientist, Walt Meier, were interviewed for the article and noted the importance of these data to climate research.
New Look for NOAA@NSIDC Web Site
NOAA@NISDC's Web site has been redesigned. The new site has a cleaner look and easier navigation. The site features a scrolling image slider highlighting some of NOAA@NSIDC's most popular data products. Visit the site at http://nsidc.org/noaa/index.html.
V12-Stage 1 AMSR-E Level-3 Sea Ice Products Now Available
NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of Validated 12 (V12-Stage 1) AMSR-E Level-3 sea ice products. The V12 algorithm corrects an error in the method for applying the multi-year sea ice mask that had caused large areas of Arctic to be erroneously masked in the Snow Depth on Sea Ice parameter. The multi-year sea ice mask and the snow melt mask are now stored within the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12) product. The AE_SI12 product is the only sea ice product with the Snow Depth on Sea Ice parameter, but all AMSR-E sea ice products use the same production code and therefore will be processed with the V12 algorithm.
AMSR-E Level-3 sea ice products include the following:
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids (AE_SI6)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature,
Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow
Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea
Ice Concentration Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
NSIDC encourages users to always work with the latest data/highest version number available for a given date. The AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) has begun reprocessing data, and NSIDC will notify data users when reprocessing is complete. Forward processing will begin once reprocessing is complete.
New Combined AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, and WMO Data Set
NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of a new data set, Co-Registered AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, and WMO Data. The data set contains the following spatially and temporally co-registered data:
- Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) brightness temperatures for all channels
- Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) backscattering coefficients
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ground observations acquired from more than two thousand stations
QuikSCAT and WMO data are available from 01 January 2002 through 19 March 2009, and AMSR-E data are included from 19 June 2002 through 19 March 2009. For more information and data access, please refer to the Co-Registered AMSR-E, QuikSCAT, and WMO Data product Web page.
DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures Updated
The DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures data set has been updated through 29 April 2009. Processing updates for this product beyond 29 April 2009, however, have been temporarily suspended due to the failure of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-13 satellite. NSIDC is working with the data source for this product, Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), to acquire data from the DMSP F-17 satellite. We hope to have these data processed by late Spring 2010.
Please contact NSIDC User Services with any questions you may have.
New Daily, Global Land Surface Parameter Data Set Available
The Daily Global Land Surface Parameters Derived from AMSR-E data set is now available. This data set contains geophysical parameters generated from the AMSR-E instrument on the NASA Aqua satellite, including:
- Air temperature minima and maxima at approximately 2 meters in height
- Fractional cover of open water on land
- Vegetation canopy microwave transmittance
- Surface soil moisture at less than or equal to 2 centimeters soil depth
- Integrated water vapor content of the intervening atmosphere for the total column
Data extend from 19 June 2002 through 31 December 2008 and were derived over land for non-precipitating, non-snow, and non-ice land surface conditions. The primary input data were daily AMSR-E dual polarized multi-frequency, ascending and descending overpass brightness temperature data.
For more information and data access, please refer to the Daily Global Land Surface Parameters Derived from AMSR-E product Web page.
Daily Snow Depth Analysis Data Set Now Available
A new daily snow depth analysis data set is now available from NSIDC. The data set, provided by Ross Brown and Bruce Brasnett of Environment Canada, contains a Northern Hemisphere subset of the global, daily snow depth analysis produced by the Canadian Meteorological Centre since 1998. The daily snow depth analyses are based on the optimal interpolation of real-time snow depth information from surface synoptic observations, meteorological aviation reports, and special aviation reports. Also included are monthly mean snow depth and derived monthly mean snow water equivalent estimated using a monthly mean snow density look-up table. The data set covers the period from April 1998 through the end of 2009, and will be updated annually while the operational analysis is maintained.
For more information, please see the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) Daily Snow Depth Analysis Data product Web page.
Microstructural Location and Composition of Impurities in Polar Ice Cores
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of a new data set, Microstructural Location and Composition of Impurities in Polar Ice Cores.The data set consists of measurements of impurities and ions in three polar ice cores: the Vostok 5G ice core and the Byrd ice core from Antarctica, and the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) D core.
For more information on Antarctic data from AGDC, see the AGDC Data Catalog Web page at http://nsidc.org/agdc/data.html.
WAIS Divide Ice Core Data Set Now Available
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of a new data set, WAIS Divide Ice Core Images, Antarctica. The data set contains digital images of ice core sections from the WDC06A ice core in Antarctica.
For more information on Antarctic data from AGDC, see the AGDC Data Catalog Web page at http://nsidc.org/agdc/data.html.
The Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) Program
A new Web page has been developed and launched highlighting the efforts of NOAA@NSIDC on the Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) program. SCICEX is a project in which Navy nuclear submarines were utilized to acquire scientific data about the Arctic Ocean. This jump page is intended to provide a central place to find out information on SCICEX and how and where to acquire the data. For details, see the The Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) Web page on the NOAA@NSIDC Web site.
All NSIDC DAAC Data Holding Now Available Through the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool
NSIDC is pleased to announce that all NSIDC DAAC data holdings can now be discovered through the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool (WIST). Previously, only DAAC ECS data were included in this tool.
AMSR-E/Aqua Brightness Temperatures Updated
Both the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily Global Quarter-Degree Gridded Brightness Temperatures data sets have been updated. This quarterly update extends the time series of both data sets through 31 December 2009. This includes data in all three EASE-Grid projections (north, south, and global) as well as global quarter-degree latitude-longitude gridded data.
New Beta Advanced Data Search Tool
NSIDC is pleased to announce our new Beta Advanced Data Search Tool. Powered by the NSIDC Searchlight engine, this tool delivers data downloads immediately, with you in control of on-the-fly reformatting, reprojection, and subsetting of the data. In this way, we are delivering only what you want, and how you want it. The sooner you can obtain what you want, in a format you can quickly understand and use, the more time you will have to devote to your scientific investigations.
While the Searchlight engine provides extensive functionality for searching, browsing, retrieving, and manipulating NSIDC data holdings, it was built with more than just data search in mind. It represents a suite of fundamental architectural changes that allow NSIDC to develop even more capabilities to help researchers work with cryospheric data.
At this time, only a selection of NSIDC data holdings are available through this tool. A list of the current data holdings is available from the main Web page of the Beta Advanced Data Search Tool, under the heading Data Sets. However, we are working to make all NSIDC data holdings available via this tool in the future.
New Google Earth KML File Published: A Climate Change Tour of Cold Places
In collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education, NSDIC has created and released a new Google Earth movie called A Climate Change Tour of Cold Places. With a focus on snow and ice, this tour explains how snow and ice play critical roles in the changing climate. The tour is geared towards a K-12 audience with down-to-earth examples and terms that are simple to understand. Students get a closer look at what ice and snow tell us about how climate is changing especially in regions near the Earth's North and South poles. It includes interviews with NSIDC scientists, a discussion of glaciers, and an ice shelf break-up animation. The KML file is available on the NSIDC Virtual Globes Web page.
NOAA@NSIDC at AGU
NOAA@NSIDC presented several demos and a poster at the Fall 2009 AGU. NOAA@NSIDC’s presence at the meeting included demonstrations of the new Glacier Photograph Collection Search & Order Interface and of a new Tour of the Cryosphere in Google Earth for K-12 outreach. A poster (C41A-0448) titled Operational Products Archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Center highlights how the team at NSIDC works with NOAA and other operational producers of sea ice and snow analyses to widen the community of users and to make products easier for scientists to use. The poster is available from the NSIDC Presentations and Posters Web page. The Glacier Photograph collection is described in an article in the NSIDC Monthly Highlights, Glacier Photographs at NSIDC, with links to the collection interface.
Featured Article in NOAA's Climate Watch Magazine
Short-term Cooling on a Warming Planet, the featured article for December 31, 2009 in NOAA’s Climate Watch Magazine, was authored by NSIDC’s Michon Scott. Michon interviewed David Easterling, a climate scientist at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, and Michael Schlesinger, a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about declining temperatures since 1998.
2009 [top]
Processing of the following data sets is temporarily suspended due to the recent loss of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-13 satellite:
DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness
Temperatures
DMSP SSM/I Daily and Monthly Polar Gridded
Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations
Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7
SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave Data
Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from
Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I
DMSP SSM/I Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid
Brightness Temperatures
NSIDC is working with our data source, Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), to acquire data for these products from the DMSP F-17 satellite. We hope to have the data processed and available by late Spring 2010.
In the meantime, F-17 data are available for the following near-real-time
data sets:
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily
Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily
Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder
Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of a new data set, Methane Isotopes from the WAIS Divide Ice Core (NSIDC-0435). This data set includes depth, gas age, and the isotopic composition of methane (∂13C and ∂D of CH4) from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core, WDC05A, in Antarctica.
For more information on Antarctic data from AGDC, see the AGDC Data Catalog Web page at http://nsidc.org/agdc/data.html.
On 16 November 2009, ROCS hosted a meeting of the managers of Campus Cultural Collections to discuss an emergency action plan for the special materials held in the NSIDC archives. Special guests for this meeting were representatives from Huntington T. Block, a company that provides insurance coverage for fine arts and other collections held at CU. The meeting was devoted to issues including where to find large freezers in an emergency, establishing an official emergency campus network, and formalizing the group within CU. Large freezers, an important part of disaster recovery involving water, either from a leak, a flood, or from fire prevention, are important for saving paper-based materials because it is very important to freeze the wet items within 48 hours. The freezers were located and found to be very close to NSIDC, so in case of an emergency, the materials can be moved quickly. The meeting was very successful in creating a plan of action in case of an emergency.
On Wednesday, 18 November 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to noon (USA Mountain Time), data access via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) will be unavailable due to NSIDC FTP server maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience
The AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) team re-initialized the multi-year sea ice mask on 05 October 2009 for Version 11 (V11) of the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12) product.
Re-initializing the multi-year sea ice mask will ensure that the “Snow Depth on Sea Ice” parameter in the Northern Hemisphere is correct for the 2009/2010 winter sea ice season. The error in the Northern Hemisphere “Snow Depth on Sea Ice” parameter has not been corrected in data for previous sea ice seasons; therefore, users should exercise caution when working with the Northern Hemisphere "Snow Depth on Sea Ice" parameter in data using the V11 algorithm prior to 05 October 2009. Algorithm V12 will be implemented in the near future and AE_SI12 data for the entire AMSR-E mission will be reprocessed, correcting the "Snow Depth on Sea Ice" parameter. Registered users will be notified when V12 is installed and reprocessing begins.
If you have questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Every month, NSIDC features a data set or important program at NSIDC. For October, the Glacier Photograph Collection is featured. To read the full article, see the NISDC Monthly Highlights Web page.
Florence Fetterer, NOAA@NSIDC program manager, and Ann Windnagel, NOAA@NSIDC team member, attended the Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) Science Advisory Committee meeting on October 5th and 6th in Washington, DC. SCICEX is a project that utilizes Navy nuclear-powered submarines to obtain scientific measurements of the Arctic Sea such as ice draft profiles; physical, chemical, and biological water properties; and bathymetry. Fetterer and Windnagel attended the meeting to give presentations about data management at NSIDC describing how the services NSIDC provides would benefit the SCICEX program. The goal is to acquire funding to archive and distribute SCICEX data at NSIDC.
NSIDC has recently updated the following sea ice concentration data
sets:
Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7
SMMR and SSM/I DMSP Passive Microwave Data - Preliminary
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations
In the past, sea ice concentrations for near-real-time and preliminary sea ice data did not include concentrations below 15 percent. However, to be more consistent with the final sea ice concentration data NSIDC receives from the Goddard Space Flight Center, and to provide users with all possible data values, we have reprocessed the data to include concentrations below 15 percent. Data users should not see any changes in the sea ice data they currently have with concentrations above 15 percent.
For access to updated data, please refer to the data set Web page links listed above.
Both the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily Global Quarter-Degree Gridded Brightness Temperatures data sets have been updated. This quarterly update extends the time series of both data sets through 30 September 2009. This includes data in all three EASE-Grid projections (north, south, and global) as well as global quarter-degree latitude-longitude gridded data.
NOAA@NSIDC has released the Canadian Ice Service Arctic Regional Sea Ice Charts in SIGRID-3 Format data set. The Canadian Ice Service (CIS) produces digital Arctic regional sea ice charts for marine navigation, climate research, and input to the Global Digital Sea Ice Data Bank (GDSIDB) on a daily basis. The ice charts are created through the manual analysis of in situ, satellite, and aerial reconnaissance data. This data set begins in 2006 and is updated approximately once a week. The regions this data set covers are the Northern and Southern Canadian Waters. The charts are distributed as vector shapefiles in SIGRID-3 format. The SIGRID-3 vector file format is a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ice chart archive format developed by the operational ice services and NSIDC. The International Ice Charting Working Group (IICWG) and the GDSIDB promote archiving and distributing ice charts for the use of researchers. For more information or to access the data, see the Canadian Ice Service Arctic Regional Sea Ice Charts in SIGRID-3 Format Summary page.
The NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) has published a new data set, US ITASE Stable Isotope Data, Antarctica (NSIDC-0425). The data set includes stable isotope data from snow pits, firn, and ice cores collected by the the US component of the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition ( ITASE), between 1999 and 2007. Currently, data from 1999 and 2000 are available. Data from 20001 to 2007 will be added as they become available.
For more information on Antarctic data from AGDC, see the AGDC Data Catalog Web page at http://nsidc.org/agdc/data.html.
NSIDC has adjusted the algorithm used in the Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent (NISE) Version 4 product. A sea ice concentration threshold of 15 percent had been introduced in NISE Version 4, so that pixels with a sea ice concentration of 14 percent or less were assigned a value of 255, or ocean. After further analysis, we have determined that removing this threshold will provide greater consistency with NISE Version 2 data. All NISE Version 4 data have been reprocessed using this modified algorithm.
For access to updated data and documentation, please refer to the NISE product catalog page.
During September and early October 2009, NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) data users will receive an e-mail invitation from CFI Group on behalf of NASA to participate in a Web-based survey about the quality and utility of NSIDC DAAC products and services. It takes approximately ten minutes to complete this anonymous questionnaire. Your feedback affects our future performance and helps us identify user and science needs. The NSIDC DAAC is one of twelve NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers evaluated by this survey.
If you have not received an email and would like to participate, please contact the CFI group.
NSIDC would like to report an error currently in two near-real-time data products: the Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures and the Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures. A calibration problem in the F17 37H GHz channel is causing a bias of 3 to 4 Kelvin lower than should be reported for the 37H GHz channel. This bias is occurring in the data from 01 April 2009 through 15 August 2009. Channels other than the 37H GHz, and data outside of this time range, are not impacted. These data products will be updated as soon as we receive the corrected data from our data source.
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of a new data set, Digital Imaging for Siple Dome Ice Core Analysis, Antarctica. The data set contains high-resolution images of sections from the Siple Dome A ice core, in TIFF and JPG formats.
As of 01 September 2009, the processing stream for the Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures data set has been switched from the SSM/I sensor on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F13 satellite to the SSMIS sensor on the DMSP-F17 satellite.
This change was necessary due to the F13 satellite nearing the end of its mission. For more documentation and data access, refer to the Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Pathfinder Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures Web page.
As of 28 August 2009, the processing stream for the Near-Real-Time Ice and Snow Extent (NISE) product has been switched from the SSM/I sensor on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F13 satellite to the SSMIS sensor on the DMSP-F17 satellite. This change was necessary due to the F13 satellite nearing the end of its mission. For more information and data access, refer to the Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent Web page.
The Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of new data sets. For a complete listing of AGDC data, see the AGDC Data Catalog. The newly released AGDC data sets include the following:
Late Holocene Climate Variability, Dry Valleys, Antarctica (NSIDC-0399)
Nitrogen and Oxygen Gas Isotopes in the Siple Dome and Byrd Ice Cores, Antarctica (NSIDC-0407)
Gases in Firn Air and Shallow Ice at the WAIS Drilling Site, Antarctica (NSIDC-0412)
The AMSR-E sea ice team has notified NSIDC of an error with the "Snow Depth on Sea Ice" parameter in the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12). The method of applying the dynamic multi-year ice mask used for the "Snow Depth on Sea Ice" parameter is causing large areas of the Arctic to be erroneously masked. This error does not affect the "Snow Depth on Sea Ice" parameter in the Antarctic. The sea ice team is working with the AMSR-E Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS) at the Global Hydrology Resource Center to determine a solution. The solution will be implemented in the V12 algorithm, and the SIPS will reprocess data from the entire AMSR-E mission. Since the sea ice concentration parameters are not affected, NSIDC will continue to distribute the AE_SI12 product with the V11 algorithm until reprocessing with the V12 algorithm is complete. Users should not work with the Northern Hemisphere "Snow Depth on Sea Ice" parameter in data using the V11 algorithm. Registered users will be notified when the V12 algorithm is implemented and reprocessing begins. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
If you have questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Reprocessing is now complete for the following AMSR-E Level 3 products:
Land Product:
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Surface Soil Moisture, Interpretive
Parms, & QC EASE-Grids (AE_Land3)
Algorithm: Validated 06
Sea Ice Products:
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids
(AE_SI6)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow
Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperatures & Sea Ice Concentration
Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
Algorithm: Validated 11
Snow Products:
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_DySno)
AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DSno)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
Algorithm: Validated 09
All data from 19 June 2002, the beginning of the AMSR-E mission, through the present now use the most up-to-date algorithm. For more information regarding the algorithm history of AMSR-E products, refer to the Data Versions for V002 Web page. For data access and documentation, visit the Data Summaries Web page.
NSIDC is pleased to announce that reprocessing is complete for AMSR-E/Aqua
L2A Global Swath Spatially-Resampled Brightness Temperatures (AE_L2A)
and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L2B Surface Soil Moisture,
Interpretive Parms, & QC
EASE-Grids (AE_Land) data products. AE_L2A data using the Validated
10 - Stage 3 algorithm, and AE_Land data using the Validated 09 - Stage
1 algorithm, are now available from 19 June 2002 (the beginning of the
AMSR-E mission) through the present. More information regarding the algorithm
history of AMSR-E products is available on the Data
Versions for V002 Web page.
The Glacier Photograph Collection has a new Search & Order Web interface. A complete redesign of the old interface has been implemented as well changes to the overall appearance of the Web site. The new Search & Order interface provides a more streamlined and efficient way for users to query the Glacier Photograph Collection database. Users can search for glaciers by spatial coverage and temporal range as well as by glacier name or by photographer. Users also now have the option of running multiple searches before placing an order. To access the new interface, see the Glacier Photograph Collection Web site.
The AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily Global Quarter-Degree Gridded Brightness Temperatures data sets have been updated. This update extends the time series of both data sets through 30 June 2009. These data sets remain in Version 3.
Data are now available through 31 December 2008 for the Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave data set. These data will remain online until NSIDC receives the Final data from the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
For information regarding this data set, or to access data via FTP, please visit the link provided above.
The DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures data set has been updated through 31 December 2008. With this update, a new version of the source data was used in the gridded brightness temperature processing. Due to this, all files beginning 01 July 2008 are now Version 3. Data remain Version 2 prior to 01 July 2008. For more information regarding the differences between the Version 2 and Version 3 files, refer to the Detailed Data Description section in the data set documentation. Data set documentation and FTP data are accessible via the product catalog page.
On 17 July 2009, the MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 500m Grid (MOD10A1) Version 4 (V004) snow data product will be removed from NSIDC's archive. NSIDC will retain a small amount of MODIS V004 data from this data set for use in comparisons with other data versions. This is referred to as the Golden Month. The Golden Month covers the time period 29 August 2002 (day of year 241) through 7 October 2002 (day of year 280).
For access to the V004 Golden Month data, contact NSIDC User Services.
NOAA@NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of a new data set: Recurring Spring Leads and Landfast Ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 1993-2004. This data set contains information on recurring spring leads and landfast ice extent in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas from 1993 to 2004. The data set uses data acquired from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Radarsat-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The data is provided in a number of formats including ArcGIS geodatabases and shapefiles. For more information about this data set and to obtain the data, see the Recurring Spring Leads and Landfast Ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 1993-2004 summary page.
Information and statistics on 157 glaciers from the Huasco Catchment in Chile have been added to the World Glacier Inventory. The information was provided by The Center for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones (CEAZA) in Chile. To search for these glaciers, select CEAZA from the Data Contributor pull-down menu from the World Glacier Inventory Search Web page. More information about this update is available in the Quality Assessment and History of Updates section of the World Glacier Inventory guide document.
NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of Validated 11 (V11-Stage 1) AMSR-E Level-3 sea ice products as of 29 May 2009.
The algorithm for V11 corrected an error introduced in the V10 algorithm which caused the snow depth on sea ice parameter to be overestimated by a factor of approximately two. Although AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12) is the only product with the affected parameter, all AMSR-E sea ice products use the same production code and will therefore be processed with the V11 algorithm.
AMSR-E Level-3 sea ice products include the following:
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids
(AE_SI6)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow
Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration
Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
NSIDC has officially switched its processing stream for near-real-time passive microwave brightness temperatures from the SSM/I sensor on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F13 satellite to the SSMIS sensor on the DMSP-F17 satellite. This change in the processing stream was necessary due to a failing recorder on F13. At this time, the following products have been processed back to 10 May 2009 using F17 data:
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations
Sea Ice Index
For more information regarding the processing of these products, refer to the data set documentation via the links above.
As of 1 June 2009, the following Version 4 MODIS snow and sea ice data products have been removed from NSIDC's archive:
Version 4 Snow Products:
MOD10L2: MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m
MYD10L2: MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 5-Min L2 Swath 500m
MOD10A2: MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 8-day L3 Global 500m Grid
MYD10A2: MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover 8-Day L3 Global 500m Grid
Version 4 Sea Ice Product:
MYD29: MODIS/Aqua Sea Ice Extent 5-Min L2 Swath 1km
NSIDC will retain a small amount of MODIS Version 4 data from each data set for use in comparisons with other data versions. This is referred to as a golden month. The golden month covers the time period 29 August 2002 (day of year 241) through 7 October 2002 (day of year 280).
For access to the Version 4 golden month data, contact NSIDC User Services. Version 5 of the above data products will remain available.
NSIDC has a new URL (ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/metadata/) to access our Web Accessible Metadata Folder, which contains on-line XML files representing our metadata holdings.
The XML files, available in both DIF and FGDC formats, are updated on a daily basis. These metadata files are provided to allow other organizations to regularly harvest our metadata collection for inclusion in data discovery and access portals. If you currently obtain metadata via our Web Accessible Metadata Folder, please confirm that you are using the new URL (ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/metadata/).
Beginning 10 June 2009, Version 1 AMSR-E data will no longer be available from NSIDC. Version 1 data will remain available for ordering until 10 June 2009 through the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool (WIST), Data Pool, or the Search 'n Order Web Interface (SNOWI). NSIDC currently distributes both Version 1 and Version 2 AMSR-E products. AMSR-E Version 2 products use the most up-to-date algorithms.
Due to insuficient data received, the MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Monthly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG, Version 5 (MOD10CM) data product is missing the following granules:
June 2001
March 2002
December 2003.
Reprocessing has begun for the following AMSR-E Level-3 Land, Sea Ice, and Snow data products:
Land Product
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Surface Soil Moisture, Interpretive Parameters, & QC EASE-Grids (AE_Land3)
Algorithm: Validated 06
Sea Ice Products
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids (AE_SI6)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperatures & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
Algorithm: Validated 10
Snow Products
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_DySno)
AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DSno)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
Algorithm:
Validated 09
Data from 19 June 2002, the date the AMSR-E mission began, through the present will be reprocessed. Another announcement will be posted when reprocessing is complete.
Users of the NSIDC Antarctic Cryosphere Access Portal (A-CAP) can now save maps and download the source data for each of the layers displayed in the map. See the A-CAP News Web page for more information.
The processing environment for the Graphical Interface for Subsetting, Mapping, and Ordering (GISMO) tool has recently been upgraded. Though we do not anticipate any difficulties, we recommend that users look over GISMO data order results carefully. Please report any issues you experience to NSIDC User Services.
AMSR/ADEOS-II L2A Global Swath Spatially-Resampled Brightness Temperatures (AA_L2A) Version 1 data are now available from NSIDC. The data are available from 28 January until 24 October 2003, when the satellite was lost, and are restricted to NASA approved users. For information on becoming a NASA-approved user, please go to the Order Data Web page, and refer to the information under the column heading: First Time Users of AMSR/ADEOS-II Data.
Both the AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures and AMSR-E/Aqua Daily Global Quarter-Degree Gridded Brightness Temperatures data sets have been updated. This update extends the time series of both data sets to 31 March 2009. The data in this update are still considered Version 3.
Due to system maintenance from Monday, 20 April 2009 through Thursday, 23 April 2009, NSIDC will not receive MODIS data from our data provider. Once the maintenance period has passed, NSIDC will ingest and archive the missing MODIS data to ensure continual temporal coverage.
Data are now available through June 2008 for the DMSP SSM/I Daily and Monthly Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations data set. The Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) derived ice concentrations are daily total and monthly-averaged ice fractions for both hemispheres with a temporal coverage record now spanning from June 1987 to June 2008.
NSIDC is pleased to announce that AMSR-E Soil Moisture Validation data have been updated to include all data sets for the Soil Moisture Experiment 2003 (SMEX03) campaign. The SMEX03 campaign was conducted in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Alabama, USA, between 23 June and 18 July 2003, and in Brazil during the first two weeks of December 2003. For data access and documentation, visit the SMEX03 Data Sets Web page.
If you have questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Two recent improvements in tiepoints used in the AMSR-E standard sea ice concentration algorithm may result in a relative change in sea ice area and extent for users working with multiple versions of the data. The effect on the output depends on season and hemisphere, but users may notice a decline in area and extent across the Arctic and an increase in the Antarctic in data with the most recent algorithm. The algorithm changes are reflected in the change from versions B06 to T08 and T08 to V10.
AMSR-E Level-3 sea ice products using the standard sea ice concentration algorithm include the following:
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
NSIDC encourages users to always work with the latest data (highest version number) available for a given date. Data from 19 June 2002 (start of the AMSR-E mission) to 26 January 2009 will be reprocessed to V10. We will send an announcement when reprocessing begins. More information on versions of AMSR-E data is available at the AMSR-E Versions Web page.
If you have questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
The Sea Ice Index has a new look: The redesigned Sea Ice Index Web site makes it easy to see monthly and daily sea ice conditions at a glance, as well as longer term trends in ice extent and concentration from satellite passive microwave data. Images can be displayed on NASA's Blue Marble view of the Earth. The site features tools for browsing and animating data images as well as downloading extent numbers.
The NSIDC Antarctic Cryosphere Access Portal (A-CAP) now contains Antarctic ice flow velocity data from the VELMAP collection. For more information, see the A-CAP News announcement, Antarctic Ice Velocity Data Now Available through A-CAP.
Beginning 11 March 2009, NSIDC will no longer offer distribution on hard media (CD-ROM, DVD, DLT) for AMSR-E, MODIS, GLAS, or NISE data sets. Data will only be available via FTP Pull or FTP Push.
For future orders, if you have trouble accessing data via FTP, please contact NSIDC's User Services Office for data access options.
On 16 February 2009, NSIDC noticed significant problems with the Near-Real-Time (NRT) sea ice product. Upon investigation, the problem was found to be due to an issue with the DMSP F15 SSM/I 22 GHz frequency brightness temperature fields used as inputs into the sea ice algorithm. The problem began around 1 January 2009 and gradually worsened until it became noticeable in the sea ice product. NSIDC is working to correct the issue and provide reliable NRT sea ice data. In the meantime, F15 data since 1 January 2009 should not be used. The data sets affected by this problem are the following: The Sea Ice Index, Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures, and Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations.
ICESAt/GLAS Release-29 data for the Laser 2B campaign (17 February 2004 to 21 March 2004) are now available for the following products: GLA01 to GLA05 and GLA07 to GLA11. This covers the atmospheric and engineering products only. The elevation/altimetry data products (GLA06 and GLA12 to GLA15) for Laser 2B are not available at this time. Please see the Release-29 Early Campaigns Altimetry Data Problem description for more information. See the ICESat/GLAS Data Releases Web site for more information and a more complete description of this new release, or contact NSIDC User Services if you have any questions.
NSIDC data is included in the newest version of Google Earth, launched today. The new Ocean in Google Earth feature contains NSIDC sea ice extent data and photographs showing glaciers shrinking through time. These and other NSIDC data products are also available to Google Earth users online via NSIDC's Virtual Globes Web page.
For more information about Google Earth, contact Google Press. For more information about the NSIDC data included in Google Earth, please contact NSIDC User Services. To contact members of the NSIDC press, please contact Stephanie Renfrow or +1 303.492.1497.
30 January 2009
ICESat/GLAS Release-29 data for the Laser 2A campaign (25 September 2003 to 18 November 2003) are now available for the following products: GLA01 to GLA05 and GLA07 to GLA11. This covers the atmospheric and engineering products only. The elevation/altimetry data products (GLA06 and GLA12 to GLA15) are not available at this time. Please see the Release-29 Early Campaigns Altimetry Data Problem description for more information. See the ICESat/GLAS Data Releases Web site for more information and a more complete description of this new release, or contact NSIDC User Services if you have any questions.
NSIDC has released thirteen single- and few-point data sets for access through the AGDC Antarctic Cryosphere Access Portal (A-CAP). These data sets include measurements from snow pits and ice cores across Antarctica. For more information, see the A-CAP news announcement, Single and Few-Point Data Sets Now Available.
NSIDC is happy to announce our support for the UArctic Atlas, which was released on 23 January 2009. The UArctic Atlas provides a visual and geographic overview of the Arctic region, including its physical environment and socio-cultural life. The Atlas is organized into five general categories such as Natural Resources; Climate, Environment, and Ecosystems; and Peoples, Cultures, and Societies. Within each catagory, you will find various map layers which can be viewed either in a map viewer, in your browser, or opened in Google Earth.
This project was developed by the University of the Arctic, with map layer data provided by a number of partner organizations including NSIDC. One example of the type of data provided by NSIDC is the Circum-Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground-Ice Conditions data set published by our Frozen Ground Data Center. The Atlas links users to the guide document for a particular data set as well as the associated Google Earth compatible files located on our Virtual Globes Web site.
Production of MODIS Terra and Aqua snow and sea ice products have resumed, and both Terra and Aqua products are almost caught up.
Due to a hardware failure on 29 December 2008, production of MODIS Terra and Aqua snow and sea ice products have been suspended indefinitely. On 08 January 2009, production of Terra snow and sea ice products resumed and is nearly caught up. Production of Aqua snow and sea ice products have not resumed. The problem is being worked, and we hope for production to resume in the near future.
Additional data sets are now available from the Antarctic Cryosphere Access Portal (A-CAP). The data sets include elevation and ice thickness in Western Marie Bird Land, and laser altimetry of the Thwaites Glacier Catchment in Western Antarctica. Also, additional ice core locations have been added to the A-CAP Antarctic ice core overlay. For more information, see the A-CAP News Web page.
2008 [top]
The AIDJEX Documentary Film, available on DVD, describes a pilot study conducted in 1972 in preparation for the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment's (AIDJEX) main experiment from 1975 to 1976. The study includes a main camp on drifting sea ice in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska along with two satellite camps forming a station triangle with a 100 km side length. Please contact NSIDC User Services to obtain a copy of this DVD.
Four additional data sets are now available via the Antarctic Cryosphere Access Portal (A-CAP). The newly available data sets include ice thickness, surface velocity of Taylor Glacier, and basemaps for accumulation and Surface Mass Balance (SMB). Read more about the new data sets on the A-CAP News Web page.
ICESat/GLAS Release-29 data for the Laser 1A (20 February 2003 to 21 March 2003) and 1B (21 March 2003 to 29 March 2003) campaigns are now available for the following products: GLA01 to GLA05 and GLA07 to GLA09. This covers the atmospheric and engineering products only. The elevation/altimetry data products (GLA06 and GLA12 to GLA15) are not available at this time. Please see the Release-29 Laser 1A and 1B Altimetry Problem description for more information. See the ICESat/GLAS Data Releases Web site for more information and a more complete description of this new release, or contact NSIDC User Services if you have any questions.
Beginning on 01 December 2008, AMSR-E Level-2 and Level-3 Land products and Level-3 Snow products are Stage 1 validated. Stage 1 refers to the estimation of product accuracy by using a small number of independent measurements obtained from selected locations, time periods, and ground-truth/field program efforts. The Level-2 Land product and Level-3 Snow products transitioned from Transitional 08 (T08) to Validated 09 (V09). The Level-3 Land product transitioned from T05 to V06. No changes were made to the algorithms.
The products involved in this validation include the following:
AMSR-E/Aqua L2B Surface Soil Moisture, Ancillary Parms, & QC EASE-Grids(AE_Land)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Surface Soil Moisture, Interpretive Parameters, & QC EASE-Grids (AE_Land3)
AMSR-E/Aqua L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_DySno)
AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DSno)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
The data set, Subglacial topography: airborne geophysical survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica (NSIDC-0292), is now available through the NSIDC Antarctic Cryosphere Access Portal (A-CAP). For more information, see the A-CAP announcement Web page.
The online NSIDC Glacier Photograph Collection has doubled in size since January 2008, with more than 10,000 high-resolution photographs of glaciers worldwide available for free. For more information, see the full NSIDC press announcement Web page.
NSIDC has released new ICESat/GLAS data. Release-29 data for the Laser 3J time period (17 February 2008 to 21 March 2008) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. Release-29 incorporates significant and extensive changes to the atmosphere processing, additions and corrections to the waveform and elevation processing, and the incorporation of new tide models. See the ICESat/GLAS Data Releases Web site for more information and a more complete description of this new release, or contact NSIDC User Services if you have any questions.
NSIDC would like to inform you that due to intermittent satellite maneuvers throughout the lifetime of Terra and Aqua, some geolocation information in MODIS data is incorrect. Data with erroneous geolocation information are being reprocessed to eliminate data that do not meet specifications. Reprocessing of all affected data is expected to be complete in Spring of 2009.
For information regarding the dates and times of the maneuvers with the affected data, visit the MODIS Land Quality Assessment Web site.
NSIDC has recently updated the Northern Hemisphere TOVS Pathfinder Path-P Daily and Monthly Polar Gridded Atmospheric Parameters data set. The data now span July 1979 to December 2005. Additional changes to the Northern and Southern TOVS data include a new file naming convention, a new FTP directory structure, and tar-on-the-fly capabilities described in the readme.txt file on the FTP site. Data set documentation and FTP access are available from the data set Web page. If you have any questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
NSIDC is pleased to announce that the DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures data set has been updated through June 2008. Data set documentation and FTP data access are available from the data set documentation. If you have any questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Release-29 data for the Laser 3I time period (02 October 2007 to 05 November 2007) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. Release-29 incorporates significant and extensive changes to the atmosphere processing, additions and corrections to the waveform and elevation processing, and the incorporation of new tide models. See the ICESat/GLAS Data Releases Web site for more information and a more complete description of this new release, or contact NSIDC User Services if you have any questions.
Reprocessing is complete for all AMSR-E/Aqua Level-3 products. Data from 19 June 2002 (the start of the AMSR-E mission) to present are now Version 2, the validated or transitional version of the algorithm. The Level 3 products include:
Land
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Surface Soil Moisture, Interpretive Parameters, & QC EASE-Grids (AE_LAND3)
Algorithm: Transitional 05
Rain
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 5x5 deg Rainfall Accumulations (AE_RnGd)
Algorithm: Validated 06 - Stage 2
Ocean
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids (AE_DyOcn)
AMSR-E/Aqua Weekly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids (AE_WkOcn)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids (AE_MoOcn)
Algorithm: Validated 03 - Stage 2
Sea Ice
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids (AE_SI6)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
Algorithm: Transitional 08
Snow
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_DySno)
AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DSno)
AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
Algorithm: Transitional 08
Reprocessing is complete for all AMSR-E/Aqua Level-2B products. Data from 19 June 2002 (the start of the AMSR-E mission) to present are now Version 2, the validated or transitional version of the algorithm. The Level-2B products include:
Ocean
L2B Global Swath Ocean Products (AE_Ocean)
Algorithm: Validated 05 - Stage 3
Rain
L2B Global Swath Rain Rate (AE_Rain)
Algorithm: Validated 09 - Stage 2
Land
L2B Surface Soil Moisture, Ancillary Parameters, & QC EASE-Grids (AE_Land)
Algorithm: Transitional 06
NSIDC is pleased to announce a recent update to the Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I data set. The daily and monthly data have been updated and now span 26 October 1978 through 31 December 2007 for the northern and southern hemispheres.
For additional information on this data set or to access the data, please see the data set documentation.
NSIDC is pleased to announce that sea ice concentrations from AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperatures, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12) were created as .kml files for use in Earth browsers, such as Google Earth. These files include the latest 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day animations of the daily sea ice concentrations and sea ice extent in the Arctic. The animations are updated daily and are available at the NSIDC Virtual Globes: Technical Experiments Web site.
If you have any questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Reprocessing started for all AMSR-E Level 3 sea ice products with data from 19 June 2002, the start of the AMSR-E mission, and will continue through 5 July 2008. Forward processing began on 6 July 08. Reprocessing is expected to take several months to complete.
The following sea ice products are affected:
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids (AE_SI6)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Concentration & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
The algorithms for all Level 3 sea ice products are at the Transitional 08 (T08) level and incremented from Version 1 to Version 2. Sea ice temperature was removed from the AE_SI25 algorithm due to inherent ambiguities between changes in the physical temperature of the ice and changes in the ice emissivity; thus, the AE_SI25 product name also changed to AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature & Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids.
For a complete list of sea ice algorithm changes, as well ordering options and documentation, see the AMSR-E Data Versions Web page.
Release-28 data for the Laser 2C time period (18 May 2004 to 21 June 2004) are available for the following products: GLA01 to GLA09 and GLA12 to GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 2C data. Release-28 provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information, or contact User Services if you have any questions or for a more complete description.
Due to an error in an ancillary data file, the following Version 2 AMSR-E Level 3 snow products were removed from NSIDC's archives:
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_DySno)
- AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DySno)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
The bad ancillary data file creates an incorrect Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) flag. Any AMSR-E Level 3 snowfall data using the Transitional 08 Algorithm (T08) received from NSIDC prior to 23 July 2008 should not be used. The filename has the variable T08 in it.
Beginning 28 July 2008, new Version 2 AMSR-E Level 3 snow products were generated for 21 July 2008 and will continue with forward processing. Reprocessing will beginning with 19 June 2002, the start of the AMSR-E mission, and continue through 20 July 2008. The algorithm will remain at the T08 level.
For more information, contact NSIDC User Services.
As of 06 July 2008, Version 2 of AMSR-E Level 3 land, rain, ocean, snow, and sea ice products are now available at NSIDC, and are considered Transitional (T) or Validated (V). The following is a listing of the Level 3 products.
Land Product (Algorithm: T05)
Rain Product (Algorithm: V06 - Stage 2)
Ocean Products (Algorithm: V03 - Stage 2)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids (AE_DyOcn)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Weekly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids (AE_WkOcn)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Ascending/Descending .25x.25 deg Ocean Grids (AE_MoOcn)
Sea Ice Products (Algorithm: T07)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 6.25 km 89 GHz Brightness Temperature Polar Grids (AE_SI6)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Brightness Temperature, Sea Ice Concentration, & Snow Depth Polar Grids (AE_SI12)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 25 km Brightness Temperature and Sea Ice Concentration Polar Grids (AE_SI25)
Snow Products (Algorithm: T08)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_DySno)
- AMSR-E/Aqua 5-Day L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_5DSno)
- AMSR-E/Aqua Monthly L3 Global Snow Water Equivalent EASE-Grids (AE_MoSno)
Delivered Algorithm Packages (DAPs) are also available for these products. If you are interested in receiving the DAP, or for more information, contact NSIDC User Services.
NSIDC has created and released the MODIS Interactive Subsetting Tool (MIST) for public use. NSIDC created MIST in order to provide users with a 7 km by 7 km subset time series of certain Version 5 (V005) MODIS products over the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net) and the International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere (IASOA) stations. MIST also provides limited online analysis capabilities that include generating time series and scatter plots. Data are provided in a text Comma Separated Value (CSV) file format, courtesy of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributive Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC). For more information, contact NSIDC User Services.
Release-28 data for the Laser 3J time period (17 February 2008 to 21 March 2008) are available for the following products: GLA01 to GLA09 and GLA12 to GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 3J data. Release-28 provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information, or contact User Services if you have any questions or for a more complete description.
NSIDC has recently updated the Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I data products. These value-added products are now only derived from the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) sea ice data sets: the NASA Team Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave data set and the Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I data set. The NASA Team sea ice data now span 1979 – 2007, and the Bootstrap sea ice data now span 1979 – 2006.
For additional information on the sea ice trends and climatologies, please see the Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I product Web site.
If you have any questions, please contact NSIDC User Services.
Data are now available through December 2007 for the Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave data set.
Reprocessed Release-28 data are now available for the Laser 1A time period (20 February 2003 to 21 March 2003) for the products GLA05-GLA09 and GLA12-GLA15. Previously these data were released as 228 in the new file naming convention, but they have now been processed to the highest level of processing at 428. For further information on the differences between the 228 and 428 designations, please see the YXX Release Numbers document.
Release-28 provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information, or contact User Services if you have any questions or for a more complete description.
22 April 2008
The Discovery, Access, and Delivery of Data for IPY (DADDI) search and access system is now available to all IPY data users. This interface provides access to Arctic data from the four DADDI partners: NSIDC, the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), The Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics (ORNL DAAC), and the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN). In addition, all IPY data registered in the IPY Metadata Portal at the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) are also searchable. The DADDI search system does not replace the GCMD but augments it by providing a different search and presentation interface, including filters and faceted search options. Direct links to data are included in the DADDI search output where sufficient information is provided from the data source.
Access to the DADDI search system is available through the IPY Data and Information Service (IPYDIS) and the DADDI Web page.
14 April 2008
To users of the EOS Data Gateway (EDG): Please note that the Warehouse Inventory Search Tool (WIST) will be replacing the EDG. At the end of April 2008, we are requesting that registered users migrate your user accounts and begin using WIST. We will send registered users an email with further information on WIST and the migration process. We also encourage guest users to begin using WIST at the end of April. For more information, contact User Services.
31 March 2008
Release-28 data for the Laser 3I time period (02 October 2007 to 05 November 2007) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 3I data. Release-28 provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information, or contact User Services if you have any questions or for a more complete description.
04 March 2008
NSIDC has released the Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Characteristics Derived from Passive Microwave Data data set which is a binary indicator of the state of melt of each pixel on the Greenland ice sheet for each day of observation. The Greenland ice sheet melt extent data, acquired as part of NASA's Program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment (PARCA) program, is a daily estimate of the spatial extent of wet snow on the Greenland ice sheet since 1979. It is derived from SSM/I and SMMR passive microwave satellite brightness temperature characteristics using the cross-polarized gradient ratio (XPGR) of Abdalati and Steffen (1997). The data are provided in a variety of formats including raw data in ASCII format, data in binary format gridded on a Greenland subset of the Northern Hemisphere polar stereographic projection, and annual and complete time series climatologies in binary and GeoTIFF format all at a resolution of 25 km. All data are available via FTP.
22 February 2008
NSIDC has released the Global EASE-Grid 8-day Blended SSM/I and MODIS Snow Cover data set suitable for continental- to hemispheric-scale seasonal fluctuations of snow covered area (SCA) and snow water equivalent (SWE). This data set comprises global, 8-day SWE data from 2000 through 2007, enhanced with snow-covered area derived from MODIS visible wavelength bands.
The new data set blends visible and microwave data at higher temporal resolution (8-day) than NSIDC has offered before; and it is our first snow cover product to be released in netCDF format, specifically at the request of modelers.
Produced in the 25-kilometer Equal-Area Scaleable Earth Grid (EASE-Grid), the new product is unique in blending information from both passive microwave and visible sensors on a global scale for the period when both types of sensor data are available.
16 January 2008
The AVHRR Polar Pathfinder Twice-Daily 5 km EASE-grid Composites data set has been updated. This update extends the time series to 30 June 2005. The data in this update is still considered Version 3. This update includes:
- A change in filename to now include the platform, for example, a14_s005_1996001_1400_albd.v3
where: a14 = NOAA-14.
- Data beginning on day 2001060 are collected by AVHRR on NOAA-16.
- A dual Channel 3 is now included for better cloud detection. Channel
3A collects data during the day at 1.6 microns, and Channel 3B collects
data during the night at 3.7 microns.
- Due to a problem with the NOAA-16 scan motor, all the channel data is shifted sporadically between 2001 and 2005, causing the channels to contain data from another channel; thus, the derived parameters also contain errors during this time-period. See Table 12 in the Error Sources section of the data set documentation for specific dates.
2007 [top]
29 December 2007
Erroneous MODIS Version 005 Snow Cover Data
The MODIS/Terra and MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG data products (MOD10C1.v005 and MYD10C1.v005) and the Snow Cover 8-Day L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG data products (MOD10C2.v005 and MYD10C2.v005) were processed with corrupted tile indices as a result of incorrect static input files. Static input files determine and map each tile pixel to the corresponding 0.05-degree pixel in the CMG lat-lon grid.
Reprocessing of the erroneous data for 2003 and 2004 is complete. NSIDC
expects to receive 2007 reprocessed data by 07 December 2007. For more
detailed information about the errors, please visit the MODIS
Land Science Data Discipline Team Web site.
Affected Dates for
Terra Product |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Julian Day | Through | Year | Julian Day |
| 2003 | 065 |
through | 2003 | 137 |
| 2004 | 192 |
through | 2004 | 263 |
| 2007 | 001 |
through | 2007 | 307 |
Affected Dates for
Aqua Product |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Julian Day | Through | Year | Julian Day |
| 2003 | 065 |
through | 2003 | 137 |
| 2004 | 192 |
through | 2007 | 260 |
| 2007 | 001 |
through | 2007 | 307 |
17 December 2007
World Glacier Inventory: More than 34,000 glaciers in China have been added to the World Glacier Inventory. For more information, please see the Quality Assessment and History of Updates section of the data set documentation. To access the new data from this update, proceed to the World Glacier Inventory search page and select "CAREERI, Lanzhou, China. Che/Wu" from the Data Contributor pull-down menu.
11 December 2007
Loss of AMSR-E Aqua GBAD Data
On 2 December 2007, an anomaly developed on the Aqua spacecraft which prevented the production of Ground Based Attitude Determination (GBAD) data. Due to the loss of GBAD data, AMSR-E data production was stopped. Data production resumed on 7 December 2007; however, products are slightly delayed. Production is expected to return to normal by 12 December. All data for 2 December through 6 December is expected to be recovered and will be available from NSIDC.
27 November 2007
NSIDC is exhibiting at the 2007 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco from December 11 - 14. Please stop by and visit NSIDC staff at Booth No. 139.
12 November 2007
NOAA@NSIDC has published Sea Ice Charts of the Russian Arctic in Gridded Format, 1933-2006. These data, from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, are an important new data source for those studying the role of sea ice in climate change.
30 October 2007
NSIDC Metadata Now Accessible: Collection-level metadata are now available on NSIDC's Web site for all data products. You can view this metadata in three different ways: from the catalog page, from a utility, or from an FTP site. The catalog page for each data set now includes a View Metadata Record link below the data set summary, which accesses a dynamically-generated Web page with metadata that conform to the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Directory Interchange Format (DIF) standard (see example). Additional metadata output options on this Web page include DIF in plain text, DIF in Extensible Markup Language (XML), and U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), plain text, and XML. Also, included on this Web page is an interactive Google Map that displays the spatial coverage for the data set.
The second way to view metadata is by using the same utility that created the dynamically-generated Web page to construct your own Web page with your own format and style. For more information on how to do this, please see the get_metadata.pl Web page. In addition, metadata for all of our holdings are also available in XML files for both DIF and FGDC standards at the following FTP site: ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/incoming/metadata/. Updated on a daily basis, these FTP folders are provided to allow other organizations to regularly harvest our metadata collection for inclusion in data discovery and access portals.
18 October 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3C time period (20 May 2005 to 23 June 2005) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 3C data*, and it is another release of GLAS data with the satellite's attitude in "airplane" mode. Please contact User Services for a more complete description. *Release-28 provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information.
27 September 2007
Today's update to the Glacier Photograph Collection includes 50 photographs taken between 1890 and 1996. Represented in this batch are Colorado glacier photographs taken by Junius Henderson, Oscar A. Randolph, Rudolph Johnson, and Russell Allen. The glaciers are Andrews, Arapaho, Fair, Isabel, Mills, Saint Vrain and Taylor. Other photos include a series of Franz Josef Glacier (1951-1964), and Harry Fielding Reid images of John Muir's cabin taken in 1890.
25 September 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3F time period (24 May 2006 to 26 June 2006) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 3F data*, and it is also the first release of GLAS data with the satellite's attitude in "airplane" mode. Depending on the time of year, the satellite's attitude is changed from airplane to sailboat to accommodate sun angle changes and for power and thermal stability. *Release-28 provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
20 September 2007
The complete times series of Version 4 data for the MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 8-day L3 Global 500m Grid (MOD10A2) product and the MODIS/Terra Snow Cover 8-day L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG (MOD10C2) product are now available from the Data Pool and will remain available indefinitely. The time series extends from Feb 2000 through Dec 2006.
20 September 2007
The complete times series of Version 2 data for the Near-Real-Time SSM/I EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent product is now available from the Data Pool and will remain available indefinitely. The time series extends from 04 May 1995 through present.
04 September 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3H time period (12 March 2007 to 14 April 2007) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 3H data. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
September 2007
NOAA@NSIDC is pleased to announce updates to the Glacier Photograph Collection. More than 1,200 photographs of Greenland glaciers have been digitized from slides and are available online for viewing and downloading. The Greenland photograph collection was donated to the World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder in the mid 1980s by Captain Ron Kollmeyer of the U.S. Coast Guard. Captain Kollmeyer was the lead for the Greenland Glacier Survey. The photographs of western Greenland glaciers were taken between 1969 and 1980, from ground observation stations and from U.S. Coast Guard helicopters at an altitude between 100 and 1,000 feet. To access the new data from this update, proceed to http://nsidc.org/data/glacier_photo/photo_query.html and select "Country" from the available search options. On the next screen choose "Greenland (DK)" from the Country pull-down menu.
07 August 2007
AMSR/ADEOS-II L1A Raw Observation Counts (AMSR-L1A), Version 2: This data set is now available from NSIDC. The data are available for 28 January until 24 October 2003, when the satellite was lost, and are restricted to NASA approved users. For information on becoming a NASA approved user, please go to the Order Data Web page, and refer to the information under the column heading: First Time Users of AMSR/ADEOS-II Data.
August 2007
The World Glacier Inventory has recently been updated. Over 1,600 glaciers from the former Soviet Union were added and errors with 368 glacier IDs were identified and corrected. For more information, please see the "Quality Assessment and History of Updates" section in the data set "Documentation" for further details about these updates. To access the new data from this update, proceed to the World Glacier Inventory search page, and select "Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Science. Chernova" from the Data Contributor pull-down menu.
26 July 2007
Trapped Gas Composition and Chronology of the Vostok Ice Core: This AGDC data set includes a time scale for the Vostok ice core, retrieved from Vostok Station on the East Antarctic Plateau. Investigators analyzed the molecular oxygen to nitrogen (O2/N2) ratios and the delta oxygen-18 (δ18O) record for approximately the past 115,000 to 400,000 years in the Vostok ice core.
10 July 2007
Carbon-13 Isotopic Composition of Atmospheric Methane in Firn Air, Siple Dome, Antarctica: This AGDC data set includes records of the delta carbon-13 (d13C) of methane (CH4) in firn air from the South Pole and trapped in bubbles in a short ice core from Siple Dome, Antarctica. Using two firn air samples, investigators reconstructed records of the isotopic composition of paleoatmospheric methane covering the last 2 centuries, from 1820 to 2001.
10 July 2007
Radar Investigations of Antarctic Ice Stream Margins, Siple Dome, 1998: This AGDC data set consists of surface-based radar measurements, including geometry of the bed, surface, and internal layers, and bed reflectivity measurements at two sites along ice stream margins at Siple Dome, Antarctica.
30 June 2007
March through August Ice Edge Positions in the Nordic Seas, 1750-2002: This new NOAA data set contains ice edge positions from ship logbooks, diaries, and other sources, in addition to more recent satellite data products. Data are available as ASCII text, browse images, and as shapefiles (GIS format). This long record sheds light on ice edge variability through regional shifts in climate.
21 June 2007
GLAS/ICESat Laser Altimetry Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of Antarctica and Greenland: These two new digital elevation models (DEMs) of Antarctica and Greenland were derived from GLAS/ICESat laser altimetry profile data and provide new surface elevation grids of the ice sheets and coastal areas, with greater latitudinal extent and fewer slope-related effects than radar altimetry. These DEM data sets were generated from the first seven operational periods (from February 2003 through June 2005) of the GLAS instrument. They are provided on polar stereographic grids at 500 m grid spacing for Antarctica and 1 km grid spacing for Greenland.
8 June 2007
Cosmogenic Radionuclides in the Siple Dome A Ice Core: This AGDC data set includes a record of cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations in the Siple Dome A ice core collected as part of the West Antarctic ice core program. The investigators measured profiles of both 10Be and 36Cl in the entire ice core, which spans the time period from the present to about 100,000 years before present.
22 May 2007
Paleoenvironment, Geomorphic Processes, and Carbon Stocks of Drained Thaw-lake Basins in the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska, USA, 2002-2005: This ARCSS data set is from a study of the origin and associated geomorphological, ecological, and pedological processes of thaw-lake basins of the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska. Investigators used radiometric dating, microfossil analysis, and soil development to determine whether carbon accumulation rates respond to regional changes in climate, or if they are influenced by local rates of plant succession.
18 May 2007
High-Resolution Rectified Aerial Photography for Collaborative Research of Environmental Change at Barrow, Alaska, USA: This ARCSS data set includes aerial photography of Barrow, Alaska, which has been geocorrected to a 2002 QuickBird satellite image or Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) imagery. Photography included in the set is from eight specific dates, which span from 1948 to 1997: 4 August 1948, 29 July 1949, 12-14 August 1955, 12-24 August 1962, 14 July 1964, 15 July 1979, 31 August 1984, and 16 July 1997.
9 May 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 1 time period (20 February 2003 to 21 March 2003) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
7 May 2007
NSIDC Atlas of the Cryosphere: The NSIDC Atlas of the Cryosphere is a dynamic mapping Web site that allows the visitor to explore the Earth's frozen regions. Viewed from a polar perspective, the available scenes includes snow cover, sea ice extent and concentration, glaciers, permafrost, and other critical components of the Earth's cryosphere. The user can zoom in to a specific region on the Earth as well as overlay country borders, major cities, and other geographic information.
24 April 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3G time period (25 October 2006 to 27 November 2006) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
22 April 2007
Good Days on the Trail, 1938-1942 was shown as part of the University of Colorado International Film Series. The film, with color footage of CU students on alpine hikes, provides a glimpse into the mountaineering lifestyle of an earlier time, along with shots of Arapaho Glacier and other Front Range glaciers. Scientists from NSIDC and the CU Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research narrated. The film is being preserved and digitized with support from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center and the Climate Database Modernization Program.
30 March 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 2A time period (25 September 2003 to 18 November 2003) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
19 March 2007
Vertical Strain at Siple Dome, Antarctica, 1999-2002: This AGDC data set consists of a table of long-term average strain rates measured between 1999 and 2002 at Siple Dome, Antarctica as a part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Cores (WAISCORES) project for deep ice coring in West Antarctica.
19 March 2007
Model Output Assessing Net Carbon Exchange Across the Arctic Tundra-Boreal Forest Transition in Alaska, 1981-2000: This ARCSS data set includes simulated temporal and spatial patterns of net carbon exchange in Alaskan ecosystems that span the transition from Arctic tundra to boreal forest. Investigators modeled net carbon storage along with vegetation and soil carbon and nitrogen pools in tundra, shrub tundra, and tree line evergreen conifer forest ecosystems using the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) 5.0.
16 February 2007
Oxygen and Deuterium Isotope Measurements from Siberia, 2002-2004: This ARCSS data set contains measurements from a stable isotope analysis of rain, snow, the Kolyma River, and a local stream near Cherskii, Siberia. As part of the Russian-American Initiative on Shelf-land Environments (RAISE) program, this research was designed to quantify the impacts of disturbance on the seasonal cycle of atmospheric carbon dioxide and the discharge of carbon and nitrogen into the Arctic Ocean in forest and shrubby tundra regions.
26 January 2007
Mooring and Drifting Buoy Data: Beaufort Gyre Freshwater Experiment, 2003: This brokered product, supported by the ADCC, contains temperature time series, salinity, current, sea ice draft, and bottom pressure measurements. Investigators established an observational program to measure the freshwater content (in sea ice and in the ocean) of freshwater fluxes in the Beaufort Gyre using moorings and drifting buoys during the summer of 2003.
17 January 2007
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3A time period (03 October 2004 to 08 November 2004) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This is the first public release of Laser 3A data for some altimetry products. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
16 January 2007
MODIS/Terra: The complete time series of MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG V004 (MOD10C1 V004) data is now available through the online Data Pool and will remain there indefinitely.
16 January 2007
MODIS/Aqua Version 5 Snow and Sea Ice Products: NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of Version 5 (V005) reprocessed MODIS/Aqua snow products, which contain several improvements over the previous versions. For example, monthly snow products are available in a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format, fractional snow cover was added to MYD10_L2 and MYD10A1 products, browse images are available for all products, Sea Ice by Ice Surface Temperature (IST) and combined sea ice fields were removed, and all products use HDF compression making the file size much smaller.
2006 [top]
28 December 2006
MODIS/Terra Version 5 Snow Products: NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of Version 5 (V005) reprocessed MODIS/Terra snow products, which contain several improvements over the previous versions. For example, monthly snow products are available in a Climate Modeling Grid (CMG) format, fractional snow cover was added to MOD10_L2 and MOD10A1 products, browse images are available for all products, and all products use HDF compression making the file size much smaller.
27 December 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3B time period (17 February to 24 March 2005) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
20 December 2006
Coring Data from Drained Thaw-Lake Basins of the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska: This ARCSS data set includes measurements and observations from drained thaw-lake basin (DTLB) cores retrieved from Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska in April and August of 2001 through 2003.
8 December 2006
MODIS/Terra Version 5 Sea Ice Products: NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of Version 5 (V005) reprocessed MODIS/Terra sea ice products, which contain several improvements over the previous versions. For example, Sea Ice by Ice Surface Temperature (IST) and combined sea ice fields were removed, browse images are now available, and all V005 products use HDF compression making the file size much smaller.
8 December 2006
AMSR-E/Aqua Daily EASE-Grid Brightness Temperatures: NSIDC produces AMSR-E gridded brightness temperature data by interpolating AMSR-E data to the output grids from swath space using an inverse-distance squared method. Data for the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere EASE-Grid projections, at 25 km resolution, are now available. Data begin 19 June 2002, and processing is ongoing.
7 December 2006
SHEBA Upper Ocean CTD and Thermal Microstructure, Western Arctic Ocean: This ARCSS data set includes conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) measurements along with turbulent thermal variance, turbulent kinetic energy, and vertical temperature gradient data collected from 12 October 1997 to 30 September 1998 in the Western Arctic Ocean.
14 November 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 2B time period (17 February to 21 March 2004) are available for all 15 GLAS products (GLA10 and GLA11 coverage to 4 March 2004). This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
8 November 2006
National Ice Center Sea Ice Charts and Climatologies in Gridded Format: The U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) is an interagency NOAA, Navy, and Coast Guard operational sea ice analysis and forecasting center. Since 1972, NIC has produced weekly or biweekly Arctic and Antarctic sea ice charts. These analyses are produced using available in situ, remotely sensed, and model data sources. They are generated primarily for mission planning and safety of navigation. Overall, the record of sea ice concentration from the NIC series is believed to be more accurate than that from passive microwave sensors, especially from the mid-1990s on. This data set is an Arctic sea ice concentration climatology derived from the chart series. The climatology consists of median, maximum, minimum, first quartile, and 3rd quartile concentrations as well as frequency of occurrence of ice at any concentration for 33 year, 10 year, and 5 year periods.
7 November 2006
Atmospheric Nitrate Isotopic Analysis at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, A Twenty-Five Year Record:This AGDC data set contains snow pit measurements of oxygen isotopes in nitrate and ion concentrations, along with supplementary surface measurements of oxygen isotopes in nitrate and in nitrate aerosols from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica.
1 November 2006
Resource Allocation and Allometry of Plant Growth at Selected Sites in the Arctic: 2003-2005 Growing Seasons: This ARCSS data set consists of measurements from Arctic field sites during the summer months from 5 July 2003 to 5 August 2005 as part of the Land-Atmosphere-Ice Interactions (LAII) International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). Investigators designed this research, which compares an extensive range of vegetation types that exists in widely-separated sites, to help identify the relative vulnerability of different vegetation types, plant functional types, and species to climate change and other forms of disturbances.
31 October 2006
Subglacial Topography: Airborne Geophysical Survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica: This AGDC data set includes 5 km gridded data from the Airborne Geophysical Survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica (AGASEA) conducted during the 2004-2005 austral summer. Investigators derived maps of the ice sheet surface and subglacial topography, which covers the entire catchments of both the Thwaites Glacier and the Pine Islands Glacier, from airborne survey systems mounted on a Twin Otter aircraft.
30 October 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3D time period (21 October 2005 to 24 November 2005) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products.
25 October 2006
Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave Data: An update for this product is now available. Changes include new “preliminary” data for users who need more current data, new file naming, a new FTP directory structure, and updated documentation.
25 October 2006
Near-Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations: An update for this product is now available. Changes include new binary data format, new file naming, a new FTP directory structure, and updated documentation.
18 October 2006
AWS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and Their Potential Effect on Ice Core Interpretation: This AGDC data set contains automated weather station (AWS) data from two sites on the East Antarctic Plateau where investigators conducted field research on the Antarctic megadunes. The stations collected snow/firn temperature, air temperature, air pressure, and wind data from 16 January 2004 to 17 November 2004.
16 October 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-28 data for the Laser 3E time period (22 February 2006 to 27 March 2006) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA15. This release provides numerous enhancements, such as improved corrections for saturation effects, improved flags to aid users in data selection, and better descriptions of the altimetry products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information, including details about a change in file names with this release.
29 September 2006
Monthly Mean Precipitation Sums at Russian Arctic Stations, 1966-1990: This NOAA data product includes measurements from 216 Russian Arctic stations to fill gaps in the historical precipitation record that are needed for applications including reanalysis validation and study of changing climate.
28 September 2006
Time Series of Seasonally Frozen Ground Depth in the Russian Arctic, 1930-1990: This ARCSS data set consists of seasonally frozen ground depth measurements based on soil temperatures in the Russian Arctic. Investigators constructed a record that extends from 1930 to 1990 using data from 211 ground-based stations.
28 September 2006
Estimating Sea Ice Floe Velocities to Characterize Whaling Seasons Using Satellite Imagery of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, Spring 2000 and 2001: This ARCSS data set contains SAR images from the RADARSAT and the ERS - 2 satellites along with broadband visible and infrared images from the AVHRR satellite. Data cover two spring whaling seasons in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas from March to June in 2000 and 2001.
15 September 2006
Submarine Upward Looking Sonar Ice Draft Profile Data and Statistics: Sixteen cruises were added to this NOAA@NSIDC data set, markedly increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of these data that are used for sea ice thickness estimates.
22 August 2006
Firn Air Chemistry Observations from Siple Dome, 1996, and the South Pole, 2001: This AGDC data set includes gas ratios in polar firn air. Investigators sampled air from bubbles in the firn-ice transition region to observe and model the processes of gravitational settling, thermal fractionation, and preferential exclusion within the Antarctic snowpack.
31 July 2006
DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures: NSIDC is now distributing Version 2 of this data set. Changes include reprocessing to correct an error in 1987-1999 data, full distribution via FTP, conversion from HDF to binary, and a new file naming convention. See the online documentation for more information.
21 July 2006
North Pole Environmental Observatory PMEL/CRREL 2000-2003 Ice Temperature and Mass Balance Buoy Data: This ADCC data set contains ice temperature and mass balance data from drifting ice buoys near the North Pole in the Central Basin of the Arctic Ocean. Buoys were deployed each April by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL).
13 June 2006
GPR and GPS Data: Characteristics of Snow Megadunes and their Potential Effects on Ice Core Interpretation: This AGDC data set contains ground penetrating radar (GPR) data showing surface morphology and internal layering structure along with global positioning system (GPS) data collected within an area of 60 km2 on the East Antarctic Plateau.
24 May 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-26 data for the Laser 2A time period (25 September to 18 November 2003) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA15. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information.
4 May 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-26 data for the Laser 2B time period (17 February to 21 March 2004) are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA015. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information.
10 March 2006
Repeat Photography of Glaciers: This collection matches photos of glaciers taken as early as the 1890s with recent photos taken at the same physical location. The photos tell a captivating visual story of the changes glaciers have experienced through time.
17 March 2006
ICESat/GLAS: Release-26 data are available for the following products: GLA01 - GLA09 and GLA12 - GLA015. This release covers the Laser 3D time period (21 October to 24 November 2005). Significant changes to the altimetry products include a range correction for saturation and several changes to the alternate fit waveforms. Several new MET parameters were added to the atmospheric products. See ICESat/GLAS Data Releases for more information.
14 February 2006
Northern Hemisphere Seasonal and Intermittent Frozen Ground Areas 1901-2000: This FGDC data set contains monthly values of the total exposed land area of seasonally frozen ground and annual values for intermittently frozen ground in the Northern Hemisphere. Seasonally frozen ground is defined as the near-surface soil that experiences freeze for more than 15 days per year, while intermittently frozen ground experiences fewer than 15 days of freeze per year.
13 February 2006
Cloud-Radiation Feedback: Boundary Layer Cloud Microphysical Properties and Processes: This ADCC data set contains Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) cloud microphysical data collected onboard the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130 aircraft.
13 February 2006
Compilation of Antarctic Radar Data, Siple Coast, 2000-2002: This AGDC data set contains ground-based, ice-penetrating radar profiles across satellite-detected lineations and terrains that were taken in the lower reaches of Ross Ice Stream C, also known as the Kamb Ice Stream (KIS); on Roosevelt Island; on the Siple Dome; and on the Shabtaie Ice Ridge.
13 February 2006
SMEX02 Land Surface Information: Soils Database: This Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) data set includes ESRI shapefiles containing geographic information such as railroads, roads, and stream locations; drainage features; political boundaries; and soil classifications for 10 Iowa counties.
7 February 2006
Arctic EASE-Grid Freeze and Thaw Depths, 1901 - 2002: This FGDC data set contains mean, median, minimum and maximum freeze and thaw depths for each year from 1901 to 2002 on the 25 km EASE-Grid for areas north of 50°. Freeze and thaw depths are estimated using a variant of the Stefan solution that uses an edaphic factor and freezing or thawing indices as inputs.
6 January 2006
Timing and Statistics of Autumn and Spring Annual Snow Cover for the Northern Hemisphere: This NOAA data set includes the timing of snow cover onset in the fall, the timing of last observed snow cover in the spring and the snow-free duration from 1972 to 2000.
6 January 2006
The Dehn Collection of Arctic Sea Ice Charts, (1953-1986): This NOAA data set includes almost 4,000 charts that have been scanned and are now available online. A search and order interface allows users to submit orders for high-resolution TIFF images.
NSIDC Data News
