NOAA@NSIDC is pleased to announce the release of On-Ice Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Measurements by Auger, Core, and Electromagnetic Induction, From the Fram Expedition Onward. In addition to sea ice thickness, the data set provides sea ice freeboard and snow depth on sea ice from in situ measurements taken primarily using auger, coring devices, and electromagnetic (EM) sounding. When available, ice type is also included. The archive was compiled from 44 different expeditions starting with measurements from the Fram Expedition in 1894 and 1895, then to the Maud Expedition from 1922 through 1924, and continuing forward in time to observations from 2011. The figures below give an idea of the distribution of the measurements through time and space. For about half of the more than 55,000 points at which measurements were made, the ice type is unspecified. Of the remainder, about 10% are first year ice and about 40% are multiyear ice. These data were compiled by Benjamin Holt, an investigator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. He saw a need to collect many scattered smaller collections into a larger archive that would receive metadata and documentation so that the data could be more easily found and used. In addition to planned augmentation to the collection by the investigator, other investigators are encouraged to either add data themselves or to provide suggestions by contacting NSIDC. This collection joins other ice thickness data collections at NSIDC, including the following:
- Unified Sea Ice Thickness Climate Data Record, 1947 Onward
- Submarine Upward Looking Sonar Ice Draft Profile Data and Statistics
- Morphometric Characteristics of Ice and Snow in the Arctic Basin: Aircraft Landing Observations from the Former Soviet Union, 1928-1989
- AWI Moored ULS Data, Greenland Sea and Fram Strait, 1991-2002
- SCICEX: Submarine Arctic Science Program
To learn more and to access the On-Ice Arctic Sea Ice Thickness data, see the data set landing page. Data Set DOI: https://doi.org/10.7265/N58K7785
