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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:
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:
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)
Sea Ice Products (Algorithm: T07)
Snow Products (Algorithm: T08)
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:
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