Near-Real-Time SSM/I-SSMIS EASE-Grid Daily Global Ice Concentration and Snow Extent, Version 3
Data set id:
NISE
DOI: 10.5067/JAQDJKPX0S60
There is a more recent version of these data.
Version Summary
Version Summary
Data release using SSMIS DMSP-F16 input data stream
Overview
The Near-real-time Ice and Snow Extent (NISE) data set provides daily, global maps of sea ice concentrations and snow extent. These data are not suitable for time series, anomalies, or trends analyses. They are meant to provide a best estimate of current ice and snow conditions based on information and algorithms available at the time the data are acquired. Near-real-time products are not intended for operational use in assessing sea ice conditions for navigation.
This NISE Version 3 product contains DMSP-F16, SSMIS-derived sea ice concentrations and snow extents derived from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F16 satellite. For DMSP-F18, SSMIS-derived data, see NISE Version 5. For DMSP-F17, SSMIS-derived data, see NISE Version 4. For the older, DMSP-F13, Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) derived data, see NISE Version 2.
Parameter(s):
SEA ICE CONCENTRATION
SNOW COVER
Platform(s):
DMSP 5D-3/F16
Sensor(s):
SSMIS
Data Format(s):
HDF-EOS2
Temporal Coverage:
- 1 January 2012 to present
Temporal Resolution:
- 1 day
Spatial Resolution:
- 25 km
- 25 km
Spatial Reference System(s):
- NSIDC EASE-Grid NorthEPSG:3408
- NSIDC EASE-Grid SouthEPSG:3409
Spatial Coverage:
- N:90S:-90E:180W:-180
Blue outlined yellow areas on the map below indicate the spatial coverage for this data set.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
- Near-real-time combined sea ice and snow product (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2001; Maslanik and Stroeve, 1999)
- Useful for large-scale monitoring of sea ice and snow conditions (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2001; Maslanik and Stroeve, 1999)
- Uses data from up to 5 days previous to fill in all spatial gaps (particularly important for lower latitude snow cover) (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2001)
- Microwave observations provide surface snow and ice coverage during cloudy and night-time (including polar night) conditions (Cavalieri et al., 1999)
- Good source as input to products/models requiring a spatially complete snow and sea ice cover field at moderate/low resolution (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2001)
Limitations
- Low spatial resolution (25 km gridded) limits detail on concentration and precision of sea ice edge; is unsuitable for operational/navigational support (Cavalieri et al., 1999) and/or for detailed mapping of snow extent (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2002)
- Underestimates sea ice concentration during melt season (Kern et al., 2020) and/or when the ice is thin (Ivanova et al., 2015)
- Underestimates thin snow (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2002)
- Snow in dense forest and mountainous regions may be missed or underestimated (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2002)
- Wet snow is not accurately retrieved (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2002)
- There is a gap in coverage near the coast due to low spatial resolution and mixed land-ocean footprints (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2002)
- Near-real-time product with no planned reprocessing for long-term consistency; should not be used to derive long-term trends in sea ice or snow (Cavalieri et al., 1999)
Data Access & Tools
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Documentation
Help Articles
General Questions & FAQs
NSIDC currently archives passive microwave sea ice concentration products based on two algorithms: the NASA Team algorithm and the Bootstrap algorithm. Both algorithms were developed by researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the 1980s.
This article covers frequently asked questions about the NASA NSIDC DAAC's Earthdata cloud migration project and what it means to data users.
OPeNDAP, the Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol, is a NASA community standard DAP that provides a simple way for researchers to access and work with data over the internet.
The NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) is migrating its primary data access from its legacy, on-premises archive to the NASA Earthdata Cloud.
How to Articles
Many NSIDC DAAC data sets can be accessed using NSIDC DAAC's Data Access Tool. This tool provides the ability to search and filter data with spatial and temporal constraints using a map-based interface.Users have the option to:
To convert HDF5 files into binary format you will need to use the h5dump utility, which is part of the HDF5 distribution available from the HDF Group. How you install HDF5 depends on your operating system.
The HDF Group has example code for access and visualization of MODIS, GLAS HDF5, AMSR-E, and NISE data in MATLAB, IDL, Python, and NCL.
All data from the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) is directly accessible through our HTTPS file system using Wget or curl. This article provides basic command line instructions for accessing data using this method.