Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS, Version 2
Data set id:
NSIDC-0079
DOI: 10.5067/J6JQLS9EJ5HU
There is a more recent version of these data.
Version Summary
Changes to this version include:

  • Adjusted tie points to be consistent with the AMSR-E Bootstrap algorithm

  • Adjusted Southern Hemisphere land mask to account for changes in extent and positions of ice shelves

  • Reprocessed entire SMMR-SSM/I time series


Important: Because Version 2 is inter-calibrated with AMSR-E, it is not compatible with Version 1 of this data set. Users should acquire the entire Version 2 data set in order to update their time series. For further information on Version 2 data processing, see Enhanced Sea Ice Concentrations from Passive Microwave Data.

Overview

This sea ice concentration data set was derived using measurements from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on the Nimbus-7 satellite and from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) sensors on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP) -F8, -F11, and -F13 satellites. Measurements from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard DMSP-F17 are also included. The data set has been generated using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) Bootstrap Algorithm with daily varying tie-points. Daily (every other day prior to July 1987) and monthly data are available for both the north and south polar regions. Data are gridded on the SSM/I polar stereographic grid (25 x 25 km) and provided in two-byte integer format.
Parameter(s):
SEA ICE CONCENTRATION
Platform(s):
DMSP 5D-2/F11, DMSP 5D-2/F13, DMSP 5D-2/F8, DMSP 5D-3/F17, Nimbus-7
Sensor(s):
SMMR, SSM/I, SSMIS
Data Format(s):
Binary, Binary
Temporal Coverage:
26 October 1978 to 31 December 2015
Temporal Resolution:
  • 1 day
  • 1 month
Spatial Resolution:
  • 25 km
  • 25 km
Spatial Coverage:
N:
-39
S:
-90
E:
180
W:
-180
N:
90
S:
30
E:
180
W:
-180
Blue outlined yellow areas on the map below indicate the spatial coverage for this data set.

Data Access & Tools

This data set has been retired. There is a more recent version of these data.

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.

How to Articles

Many NSIDC DAAC data sets can be accessed using the 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
The NSIDC provides Python scripts for reformatting specific NSIDC SMMR-SSM/I-SSMIS data products in polar stereographic projections from NetCDF to binary.
Data from the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC) can be accessed directly from our HTTPS file system. We provide basic command line Wget and curl instructions for HTTPS file system downloads below.