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Selected Data Set Information

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Data Set:
DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Daily Polar Gridded Brightness Temperatures, Version 6
Data Set ID:
NSIDC-0001
Data Set Summary:
This data set provides daily gridded brightness temperatures derived from passive microwave sensors and distributed in a polar stereographic projection. NSIDC produces daily gridded brightness temperatures from orbital swath data generated by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) aboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F8, F11, and F13 platforms and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard DMSP F17 and F18. The SSM/I and SSMIS channels used to calculate brightness temperatures include 19.3 GHz vertical and horizontal, 22.2 GHz vertical, 37.0 GHz vertical and horizontal, 85.5 GHz vertical and horizontal (on SSM/I), and 91.7 GHz vertical and horizontal (on SSMIS). Data at 85.5 GHz and 91.7 GHz are gridded at a resolution of 12.5 km, with all other frequencies at a resolution of 25 km. Orbital data for each 24-hour period are mapped to respective grid cells using a simple sum-and-average method, also known as the drop-in-the-bucket method. Data coverage began on 09 July 1987 and is ongoing through the most current processing, with updated data processed several times annually.