National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC): Northern Hemisphere

land (land)

satellite imagery, January (2004) (blue_marble_01_circle)

Stockli, R, Vermote, E., Saleous, N., Simmon R., and D. Herring. 2005. The Blue Marble Next Generation - A true color earth dataset including seasonal dynamics from MODIS. Greenbelt, Maryland USA: NASA Earth Observatory. Digital media. Available at ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/DATASETS/BM/ and http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_set.php?categoryID=2355. Accessed 12 September 2007. Background: Cloud-free satellite image mosaic at 500-meter resolution compiled from NASA's Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) spaceborne remote sensing instrument for the month of January in 2004. Included in this data set is topographic and bathymetric relief shading from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), GTOPO30, Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Version 2, and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). This layer only shows the imagery from the Northern Hemisphere, which has the appearance of a circle in a polar projection.

satellite imagery, July (2004) (blue_marble_07_circle)

Stockli, R, Vermote, E., Saleous, N., Simmon R., and D. Herring. 2005. The Blue Marble Next Generation - A true color earth dataset including seasonal dynamics from MODIS. Greenbelt, Maryland USA: NASA Earth Observatory. Digital media. Available at ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/DATASETS/BM/ and http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_set.php?categoryID=2355. Accessed 12 September 2007. Background: Cloud-free satellite image mosaic at 500-meter resolution compiled from NASA's Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) spaceborne remote sensing instrument for the month of July in 2004. Included in this data set is topographic and bathymetric relief shading from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), GTOPO30, Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Version 2, and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). This layer only shows the imagery from the Northern Hemisphere, which has the appearance of a circle in a polar projection.

Alaska North Slope 100 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) (arcss301_contours)

Manley, W.F. 2002. Alaska North Slope 100 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/arcss301.html. 7 November 2001. Background: This data set is a 100-m resolution digital elevation model (DEM) for the Brooks Range and the North Slope of Alaska. The DEM was created by merging 100 National Elevation Dataset DEM tiles for areas of Alaska north of 67 degrees north latitude. A small area of Canada, derived from the global GTOPO30 DEM, is also included.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_ICECON_ASC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_ICECON_ASC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily ascending average sea ice concentration mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_ICEDIFF_DAY] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_ICEDIFF_DAY)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes the difference in daily average sea ice concentration between the Enhanced NASA Team (NT2) algorithm and the Bootstrap Basic Algorithm (BBA) mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_ICEDIFF_DSC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_ICEDIFF_DSC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes the difference in daily descending average sea ice concentration between the Enhanced NASA Team (NT2) algorithm and the Bootstrap Basic Algorithm (BBA) mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_18V_DAY] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_18V_DAY)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average brightness temperatures (TBs) at 18.7 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_18V_DSC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_18V_DSC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average descending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 18.7 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_18H_ASC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_18H_ASC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average ascending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 18.7 GHz at horizontal polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_23V_DAY] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_23V_DAY)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average brightness temperatures (TBs) at 23.8 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_23V_DSC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_23V_DSC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average descending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 23.8 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_23H_ASC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_23H_ASC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average ascending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 23.8 GHz at horizontal polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_36V_DAY] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_36V_DAY)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average brightness temperatures (TBs) at 36.5 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_36V_DSC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_36V_DSC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average descending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 36.5 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_36H_ASC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_36H_ASC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average ascending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 36.5 GHz at horizontal polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_89V_DAY] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_89V_DAY)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average brightness temperatures (TBs) at 89.0 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_89V_DSC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_89V_DSC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average descending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 89.0 GHz at vertical polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids [SI_12km_NH_89H_ASC] (ae_si12.SI_12km_NH_89H_ASC)

Cavalieri, D., and J. Comiso. 2004, updated daily. AMSR-E/Aqua Daily L3 12.5 km Tb, Sea Ice Conc., & Snow Depth Polar Grids V001. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/ae_si12.html. Background: The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) instrument on the NASA EOS Aqua satellite provides global passive microwave measurements of land, ocean, and atmospheric variables for the investigation of water and energy cycles. This Level-3 gridded product (AE_SI12) includes daily average ascending brightness temperatures (TBs) at 89.0 GHz at horizontal polarization mapped to a polar stereographic grid at 12.5 km spatial resolution.

MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG [Day_CMG_Cloud_Obscured] (mod10c1.Day_CMG_Cloud_Obscured)

Hall, D.K., G.A. Riggs, and V.V. Salomonson. 2006, updated daily. MODIS/Terra snow cover daily L3 global 0.05deg CMG V005. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/mod10c1.html. Background: This data set consists of 7200 columns by 3600 rows of global arrays of cloud cover in a 0.05 degree Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). MODIS snow cover data are based on a snow mapping algorithm that employs a Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and other criteria tests. The amount of snow observed in a CMG cell is based on the cloud-free observations mapped into the CMG grid cell for all land in that cell. Snow and cloud discrimination techniques are based on differences between cloud and snow/ice reflectance and emittance properties. Clouds typically have high reflectance in visible and near-infrared wavelengths, while reflectance of snow decreases in near-infrared wavelengths. Only pixels having a daylight, clear-sky view of the land surface are analyzed for snow. The NDSI can generally separate snow from most obscuring cumulus clouds, but it cannot always discriminate optically-thin cirrus clouds from snow. Instead, clouds are masked using data from the MODIS Cloud Mask data product (MOD35_L2). If the cloud mask algorithm was not applied to a MOD10_L2 pixel, the snow algorithm proceeds while assuming that the pixel is unobstructed by cloud. V005 data uses the summary cloud result field and the unobstructed field-of-view flag from MOD35_L2 to generate a single cloud mask for the snow algorithm. In some cases, MOD35_L2 identifies snow as clouds, which prevents the snow algorithm from mapping true snow extent.

MODIS/Terra Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG [Day_CMG_Confidence_Index] (mod10c1.Day_CMG_Confidence_Index)

Hall, D.K., G.A. Riggs, and V.V. Salomonson. 2006, updated daily. MODIS/Terra snow cover daily L3 global 0.05deg CMG V005. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/mod10c1.html. Background: This data set consists of 7200 columns by 3600 rows of global arrays of snow cover in a 0.05 degree Climate Modeling Grid (CMG). The Confidence Index (CI) was developed to provide users with an estimate of confidence in the snow value reported for a cell. This index indicates how confident the algorithm is that the snow percentage in a cell is a good estimate based on data such as snow, snow-free land, cloud, and other, binned into the grid cell. A high CI (max = 100%) is indicative of cloudless conditions and good data values, and that the snow percentage reported is a very good estimate. A low CI (min = 0%) is indicative of a lot of cloud cover and that the snow percentage may not be a good estimate because of the cloud cover obscuring all or parts of a cell.

Near Real-Time DMSP SSM/I Daily Polar Gridded Sea Ice Concentrations (nsidc-0081)

Maslanik, J. and J. Stroeve. 1999, updated daily. Near real-time DMSP SSM/I daily polar gridded sea ice concentrations. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media. Available at http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0081.html. Background: This data set provides a near real-time map of sea ice concentrations for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Near real-time passive microwave brightness temperature data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F13 Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) are received daily from the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and gridded onto a polar stereographic grid. Investigators generate sea ice concentrations from these data using the NASA Team algorithm. These data are available via FTP for the most recent three to six months, and are retained on the FTP site until NSIDC's Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave Data (preliminary data) become available for the same time period. These data are primarily meant to provide a best estimate of current ice and snow conditions based on information and algorithms available at the time the data are acquired. Near real-time products are not intended for operational use in assessing sea ice conditions for navigation and should be used with caution in extending the sea ice time series in NSIDC's Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I Passive Microwave Data.

coastlines (coastlines)

country_labels (country_labels)

canadian_boundaries (canadian_boundaries)

lat_long_grid (lat_long_grid)

lat_long_grid

lat_long_grid_smallscales (lat_long_grid_smallscales)

tropic_of_cancer (tropic_of_cancer)

Prime Meridian (prime_meridian)

The Prime Meridian is the 0 degree line of longitude, which separates the Western Hemisphere from the Eastern Hemisphere.

international_date_line (international_date_line)

geographic_features_sea (geographic_features_sea)

geographic_features_land (geographic_features_land)

greenland_ice_cores (greenland_ice_cores)

copyright (copyright)

Provides the text 'National Snow and Ice Data Center' to the lower-left-hand portion of the map to help identify NSIDC as the source of this map server. All maps, data, and information contained herein are public domain unless specifically stated otherwise. Proper citation and acknowledgement is requested: an example citation for each data source is provided in the OGC abstract/description of each layer in a GetCapabilities request.