NOAA@NSIDC will retire the following sea ice concentration (SIC) CDR data sets on 15 January 2026:
- NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record of Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentration, Version 5 (CDR V5)
- Near-Real-Time NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record of Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentration, Version 3 (NRT CDR V3)
The NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) will no longer produce the SSMIS data sets that feed these products. CDR V5 will remain accessible until summer 2026 with no new data production. NRT CDR V3 will be removed from distribution, so users will need to switch to the new versions.
NOAA@NSIDC will release new versions that use AMSR2 as input to continue the SIC CDR record on 13 January 2026:
- NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record of Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentration, Version 6 (CDR V6)
- Near-Real-Time NOAA/NSIDC Climate Data Record of Passive Microwave Sea Ice Concentration, Version 4 (NRT CDR V4)
A full report documenting the differences between CDR V5 and CDR V6 will be published with the new version.