Data Announcements

CADIS is one of several proposals to support IPY data management. It is focused on the Arctic Observing Network and Study of Environmental Arctic Change science programs and funded by NSF. The project is a joint effort of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and NSIDC. NOAA@NSIDC's Florence Fetterer is the NSIDC lead.

Sea Ice Index usage statistics saw the largest jump ever in January. Previously, the record number of hits was in October 2006 (following a seasonal pattern of most hits in September or October) at 54,613. January 2007 had 62,966, 15% more. But more significantly, the number of unique users increased by 102%, from 6,562 in December 2006 (pervious record) to 13,317 in January 2007.

Look for posters on Submarine Upward Looking Sonar Ice Draft Profile Data and Statistics (Wensnahan et al.); National Ice Center Sea Ice Charts and Climatologies in Gridded Format (Fetterer et al. presented by L. Ballagh; Meier et al.; and Stern et al.); and cryospheric data in Google Earth (Ballagh et al.).

The National Ice Center Sea Ice Charts and Climatologies in Gridded Format cover 1972-2004 with weekly or biweekly charts and climatologies in 25 km EASE-Grid. Documentation on NIC charting procedures is included.

At the upcoming Fall AGU conference in San Francisco, Lisa Ballagh will present Visualizing Glaciers and Sea Ice via Google Earth in the ED-21 session, featuring images from the Sea Ice Index. The Glacier Photograph Collection may be viewed using Google Earth as well. The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), Vol. 87, Num. 8 (August 2006) published a brief summary of the NSIDC Google Earth project in their "On the Web" section.

Submarine Upward Looking Sonar Ice Draft Profile Data and Statistics Sixteen cruises were added to this NOAA@NSIDC at NSIDC data set, markedly increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of these data that are used for sea ice thickness estimates.

Cryospheric Climate Indicators in the Arctic show changes in sea ice, greenness, snow off day, and soil temperature graphically and provide spatial and temporal context for changes. We hope to make improvements and additions to the Indicators over the coming year. The Indicators were introduced in a talk by F. Fetterer at the International Glaciology Society meeting in Cambridge, UK.

Monthly Mean Precipitation Sums at Russian Arctic Stations, 1966-1990 Precipitation measurements from 216 Russian arctic stations fill gaps in the historical precipitation record that are needed for applications including reanalysis validation, and study of changing climate. Documentation includes a section describing the relationship, in terms of stations included, between this data set and other commonly used precipitation data sets.

IGARSS is a conference that attracts experts on Earth observations and algorithm development. Its location in Denver this year was a good opportunity for F. Fetterer to present a poster on "A Passive Microwave Derived Snow Melt Onset Product for the Arctic North of Treeline" with co-authors M. Savoie and B. Raup, work done for the Cryospheric Indicators product.

Glaciers hold a fascination that goes beyond their scientific interest. The new Special Collection of glacier pair photographs matches photos of glaciers taken as early as the 1890s with recent photos of the same Alaska glaciers. The dramatic changes draw attention: Photos from the collection appeared in Science magazine, and in news outlets including the New York Times.

Project Manager Lisa Ballagh presented a talk at the 6th Annual International Arctic Workshop, held at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, Colorado. The talk showcased snow and ice images in Google Earth.

The Dehn Collection of Arctic Sea Ice Charts, 1953-1986 William H. Dehn was one of the first ice observers for the U.S. Navy, flying in the 1950s on ice reconnaissance flights. NSIDC houses a collection compiled by Dehn of 6,896 paper ice charts of Alaska, the western Canadian Arctic and Bering Sea waters. These charts have been scanned through the NOAA@NSIDC Climate Database Modernization Program and many are now available online. Many charts predate satellite observations and the regular ice charting activities of the U.S.