Snow Melt Onset Over Arctic Sea Ice from SMMR and SSM/I Brightness Temperatures
Entry ID: NSIDC-0105

[ Update this Record ]

Summary
Abstract: Yearly snow melt onset dates over Arctic sea ice are derived from Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) brightness temperatures. The introduction of liquid water to snow results in a sharp increase in the emissivity and hence brightness temperature of the snowpack. Snow melt onset is defined as the point in time when microwave brightness temperatures increase sharply due to the presence of liquid water in the snowpack. Data cover the years 1979 through 2007, and are in a polar stereographic grid at 25 km resolution. Tab-delimited ASCII files and GIF images are accessible via FTP. Several value-added products are also available.
Related URL
Description: Sea Ice Data at NSIDC
Geographic Coverage
(Click for Interactive Map)
Spatial coordinates   
  N: 90.0   S: 30.0   E: 180.0   W: -180.0

Data Set Citation
Dataset Originator/Creator: S. Drobot and M. Anderson
Dataset Title: Arctic Snow Melt Onset Dates from SMMR and SSM/I Brightness Temperatures
Dataset Release Date: 2001-11-01
Dataset Release Place: Boulder, Colorado USA
Dataset Publisher: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Data Presentation Form: Table
Online Resource: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0105.html
Temporal Coverage
Start Date: 1979-01-01
Stop Date: 2007-12-31
Data Resolution
Temporal Resolution: yearly
Data Set Progress
IN WORK
Data Center
NSIDC Distributed Active Archive Center Supplemental Info
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/daac/index.html
Dataset ID: NSIDC-0105

Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC USER SERVICES
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc at nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
View entire list
Distribution
Distribution Media: ftp
Distribution Size: largest files are 680 KB
Distribution Format: ASCII and GIF
Personnel
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199
Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468
Email: nsidc at nsidc.org
Contact Address:
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
View entire list
Publications/References
Abdalati, W. and K. Steffen. 1997. Snowmelt on the Greenland Ice Sheet as Derived from Passive Microwave Satellite Data. Journal of Climate 10(2):165-175.

Abdalati, W. and K. Steffen. 1995. Passive Microwave-defined Snow Melt Regions on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Geophysical Research Letters 22(7):787-790.

Abdalati, W., K. Steffen, C. Otto and K. Jezek. 1995. Comparison of TBs from SSM/I ... View entire text
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date: 2001-11-08
Last DIF Revision Date: 2012-05-14

[ Update this Record ]


Link to Web Site