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What's hot in the news around climate and sea ice and what are scientists talking about now? This data set provides surface elevation and ice thickness data for a portion of the Marie Byrd Land sector of West Antarctica, including the Ford Ranges, the Sulzberger Ice Shelf, much of the Edward VII Peninsula, and the Shirase Coast region of the eastern Ross Ice Shelf. The investigators used radar sounding and laser altimetry from a Twin Otter aircraft flying at varying altitudes, at least 300 m above the surface, at an air speed of about 130 knots. Surveys were accomplished with 64 flights in December 1998 and January 1999. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) contract NSF OPP 9615281.
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OGC Web Services: Access these data using the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Services.
OGC Web Services: Access these data using the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Services.
Data Set ID:
NSIDC-0119
Surface Elevation and Ice Thickness, Western Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica, Version 1
Geographic Coverage
| Parameter(s): |
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| Spatial Coverage: |
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| Spatial Resolution: | Not Specified |
| Temporal Coverage: |
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| Temporal Resolution: | Not specified |
| Data Format(s): |
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| Platform(s) | AIRCRAFT |
| Sensor(s): | ALTIMETERS, LASERS, RADAR ALTIMETERS, RADAR ECHO SOUNDERS |
| Version: | V1 |
| Data Contributor(s): | Bruce Luyendyk, Douglas Wilson |
| Metadata XML: | View Metadata Record |
Please contact the data provider for the correct Data Citation for this data set.
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Detailed Data Description
These data were acquired during an aerial survey of the western Marie Byrd Land region of Antarctica, which was flown in December 1998 through January 1999 by the University of Texas Istitute for Geophysics (UTIG) Support Office for Aerogeophysical Research (SOAR). The study measured surface and base ice elevations by radar and strength of magnetic and gravity fields. The coverage area measured approximately 460 by 360 km, and included the Shirase Coast of the eastern Ross Ice Shelf, much of the Edward VII Peninsula, the Sulzberger Ice Shelf, and the Ford Ranges. Track spacing was either 5.3 or 10.6 km over most of the area. The 60 Mhz radar system usually provided good images of the base of the ice for thicknesses less than 1 km but rarely imaged thicknesses greater than 1.5 km. Data formats for all observations include files for original flight profiles and grids of edited data at 1.06 km node spacing.
Format
Data are provided in ASCII text format. Two images in JPG format are also provided.
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File Size
Data files range from 4 MB to 7 MB. Image files are 189 KB and 196 KB.
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Volume
Total volume is 22.5 MB.
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Spatial Coverage Map
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Temporal Coverage
Data were collected from December 1998 and January 1999.
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Parameter or Variable
Parameter Description
Ice sheet thickness and elevation.
The following table describes the column headings for the surface elevation files "srfelev.txt" and "srfelev.xls".
| Latitude | Longitude | Surface Elev. | Flight Elev. | Year | Julian Day | Seconds | Flight | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degrees north | Degrees east | Elevation in meters above the WGS84 ellipsoid | Elevation in meters above the WGS84 ellipsoid | Year | Day of the year | Seconds from the start of day (midnight) | Flight number | Profile number |
The following table describes the column headings for the ice thickness files "icethick.txt" and "icethick.xls".
| Latitude | Longitude | Ice Thick | Year | Julian Day | Seconds | Flight | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degrees north | Degrees east | Ice thickness in meters | Year | Day of the year | Seconds from the start of day (midnight) | Flight number | Profile number |
Sample Data Record
The following sample is taken from the surface elevation data, "srfelev.txt".
| -79.782348 | -142.66064 | 266.6 | 1140.5 | 1998 | 358 | 9661.59 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
| -79.782288 | -142.66121 | 267.2 | 1140.5 | 1998 | 358 | 9661.78 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
| -79.782229 | -142.66179 | 267.6 | 1140.5 | 1998 | 358 | 9661.97 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
| -79.782154 | -142.66252 | 267.9 | 1140.5 | 1998 | 358 | 9662.22 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
The following is a small version of the suface elevation map "WMB_srf_elev.jpg."
The next sample is taken from the ice thickness data, "icethick.txt".
| -79.782348 | -142.66064 | 1073.3 | 1998 | 358 | 9661.59 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
| -79.782288 | -142.66121 | 1071.6 | 1998 | 358 | 9661.78 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
| -79.782229 | -142.66179 | 1058.5 | 1998 | 358 | 9661.97 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
| -79.782154 | -142.66252 | 1040.7 | 1998 | 358 | 9662.22 | RTZ8/32 | Wy-Y11a |
The following is a small version of the ice thickness map "WMB_bed_elev.jpg."
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Software and Tools
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Data Acquisition and Processing
Derivation Techniques and Algorithms
Processing Steps
Determining gravity anomalies required corrections for aircraft acceleration aircraft, measured by differential carrier-phase GPS navigation, filtering to remove wavelengths less than 10 km (which are commonly contaminated by aircraft motion), and editing of occasional spikes. The gravity anomalies allow estimation of bed topography under floating ice and under ice too thick for radar imaging. Magnetic anomaly reduction includes a correction for daily variation as measured at the base camp.
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Sensor or Instrument Description
Radar sounding and laser altimetry instruments.
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Data Source
Data was acquired by sensors mounted on a Twin Otter aircraft.
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References and Related Publications
Contacts and Acknowledgments
Bruce. P. Luyendyk
Dept. of Geological Sciences
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9630
Douglas. S. Wilson
Dept. of Geological Sciences
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9630
Acknowledgments:
This research was supported by NSF OPP grant 0338151.
Document Information
DOCUMENT CREATION DATE
December 2003
No technical references available for this data set.
No FAQs or How Tos available for this data set.
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Questions? Please contact:
NSIDC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
NSIDC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
