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Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I-SSMIS, Version 2
NSIDC provides this data set to aid in the investigations of the variability and trends of sea ice cover. Ice cover in these data are indicated by sea ice concentration: the percentage of the ocean surface covered by ice. The ice-covered area indicates how much ice is present; it is the total area of a pixel multiplied by the ice concentration in that pixel. Ice persistence is the percentage of months over the data set time period that ice existed at a location. The ice-extent indicates whether ice is present; here, ice is considered to exist in a pixel if the sea ice concentration exceeds 15 percent. This data set provides users with data about total ice-covered areas, sea ice extent, ice persistence, and monthly climatologies of sea ice concentrations.
- Extended the temporal coverage of the data to December 2015.
- Updated the data with input data from the Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data data set.
- Updated the data with input data from the Polar Stereographic Valid Ice Masks Derived from National Ice Center Monthly Sea Ice Climatologies data set.
- Made improvements to the browse images.
Geographic Coverage
Spatial Coverage: |
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Spatial Resolution: |
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Temporal Coverage: |
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Temporal Resolution: | Not specified |
Parameter(s): |
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Platform(s) | DMSP 5D-2/F11, DMSP 5D-2/F13, DMSP 5D-2/F15, DMSP 5D-2/F8, DMSP 5D-3/F17, NIMBUS-5, NIMBUS-7 |
Sensor(s): | ESMR, SMMR, SSM/I, SSMIS |
Data Format(s): |
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Version: | V2 |
Data Contributor(s): | Julienne Stroeve, Walt Meier |
Metadata XML: | View Metadata Record |
Data Citation
As a condition of using these data, you must cite the use of this data set using the following citation. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.
Stroeve, J. and W. Meier. 2017. Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I-SSMIS, Version 2. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/EYICLBOAAJOU. [Date Accessed].Detailed Data Description
NSIDC provides this data set to aid in the investigations of the variability and trends of sea ice cover. Ice cover in these data are indicated by sea ice concentration: the percentage of the ocean surface covered by ice. The ice-covered area indicates how much ice is present; it is the total area of a pixel multiplied by the ice concentration in that pixel. Ice persistence is the percentage of months over the data set time period that ice existed at a location. The ice-extent indicates whether ice is present; here, ice is considered to exist in a pixel if the sea ice concentration exceeds 15 percent. This data set provides users with data about total ice-covered areas, sea ice extent, ice persistence, and monthly climatologies of sea ice concentrations.
Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent Data
Along with one historical data file from the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer (ESMR), these data are derived from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS).
Daily and Monthly Total Ice-Covered Area and Total Sea Ice Extent Data
Daily Arctic and Antarctic ice-covered area and total sea ice extent ASCII text data files list the total ice-covered area (km2) and total sea ice extent (km2) for both the Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS and/or the NASA Team Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data algorithms.
Monthly mean sea ice concentrations were used to derive monthly extents for both the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithms. Monthly ice concentration extents are provided because they will tend to average out the effects of storms and other short-term events on the location of the ice edge. However, this has not been verified by NSIDC.
Regional Graphs: Time-Series Plots
The total ice-covered area and sea ice extent data are used to create .png
images of regional graphs showing monthly time-series plots of ice-covered areas, area anomalies, ice extent, and extent anomalies for both the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithms. The methods and sources for how these regions were geographically defined are discussed in Parkinson and Cavalieri (2012), Cavalieri and Parkinson (2008), and Parkinson et al. (1999).
Ice Persistence
Monthly climatologies of ice persistence binary data files with corresponding .png
images are intended for users interested in persistence of ice over a particular month during the time series, which includes January 1979 through current processing. Ice persistence fields provide information on how frequently ice occurs in a region during a given month over the time period of the data. The ice extent climatologies are derived each month from monthly-averaged sea ice concentrations using the NASA Team data.
Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration
Monthly sea ice concentration climatology binary data files with corresponding .png
images represent mean ice concentration percentages for each month over the entire time period of January 1979 through current processing. The data are derived from the NASA Team data.
This data set has several data formats:
Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent Data
Data are stored in ASCII text and PNG browse files.
Ice Persistence Data
Data are stored in binary two-byte integer format and PNG browse files.
Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration
Data are stored in flat binary one-byte integer format and PNG browse files.
Data are available on the HTTPS site in the https://daacdata.apps.nsidc.org/pub/DATASETS/nsidc0192_seaice_trends_climo_v2/
directory. Within this directory there are three folders:
ice-persistence/
- contains monthly climatologies of ice persistence binary data files and abrowse/
folder with corresponding.png
images of ice persistencemonthly-climatology/
- contains monthly sea ice concentration climatology binary data files and abrowse/
folder with corresponding.png
images of monthly climatologiestotal-ice-area-extent/
- contains three sub folders:bootsrap/
- this folder contians ASCII text data files and abrowse/
folder with.png
files of regional graphs showing monthly time-series plots of ice-covered area, area anomalies, ice extent, and extent anomalies (departures from the long-term averages)esmr-smmr-ssmi-merged/
- this folder contains ASCII text data files of daily and monthly sea ice extent summaries from 01 January 1972 to 31 December 2002 for the Northern Hemisphere and 01 January 1973 to 31 December 2002 for the Southern Hemispherenasateam/ -
this folder contians ASCII text data files and abrowse/
folder with.png
files of regional graphs showing monthly time-series plots of ice-covered area, area anomalies, ice extent, and extent anomalies (departures from the long-term averages)
The following sections explain the file naming convention used for these data files with an example.
Ice Persistence Data Files
File Naming Convention: persistence.mmm.1979-yyyy.h
Example File Name: persistence.apr.1979-2015.n
Where:
Variable | Description |
---|---|
persistence |
Identifies this as an ice persistence data file |
mmm |
3-character month abbreviation |
1979 |
First year for which data is available |
yyyy |
4-digit year of the last year for which data is available |
h |
Hemisphere (n: Northern, s: Southern) |
Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration Data Files
File Naming Convention: mean.mmm.1979-yyyy.h
Example File Name: mean.apr.1979-2015.n
Where:
Variable | Description |
---|---|
mean |
Identifies this as a mean ice concentration percentage data file |
mmm |
3-digit month abbreviation |
1979 |
First year for which data is available |
yyyy |
4-digit year of the last year for which data is available |
h |
Hemisphere (n: Northern, s: Southern) |
Total Ice Area Extent Data Files
Bootstrap and Nasateam Files
This section explains the file naming convention used for these files with an example. The following file naming conventions pertain to both the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithm data files. Data are provided in two different temporal resolutions: daily and monthly.
There are two different types of daily files: ice covered area files and sea ice extent files.
There are six different types of monthly files: ice covered area files, sea ice extent files, ice covered area anomaly files, sea ice extent anomaly files, monthly mean ice covered area files, and monthly mean sea ice extent files.
Monthly anomalies of ice-covered area and ice extent are calculated from monthly mean ice concentrations throughout the period of study. These anomalies show the deviations from the mean monthly values averaged over the entire time series.
File Naming Conventions
gsfc.algorithm.xxxx.area.1978-yyyy.h
gsfc.algorithm.xxxx.extent.1978-yyyy.h
gsfc.algorithm.xxxx.anomaly.area.1978-yyyy.h
gsfc.algorithm.xxxx.anomaly.extent.1978-yyyy.hgsfc.algorithm.xxxx.mean.area.1978-yyyy.h
gsfc.algorithm.xxxx.mean.extent.1978-yyyy.h
Where:
Variable | Description |
---|---|
gsfc |
Indicates that this is GSFC data |
algorithm |
Algorithm used to process the data (nasateam or bootstrap) |
xxxx |
Indicates that this file is either daily or monthly |
anomaly |
Indicates that this file contains the difference between the monthly data (area or extent) and the total monthly mean for the entire temporal coverage |
area |
Indicates that this file contains ice covered area measurements |
extent |
Indicates that this file contains sea ice extent measurements |
1978 |
First year for which data is available |
yyyy |
4-digit year of the last year for which data was available |
h |
Hemisphere (n: Northern, s: Southern) |
ESMR-SMMR-SSM/I-SSMIS-Merged Sea Ice Extent Files
Data are provided in two different temporal resolutions: daily and monthly.
Example File Namesgsfc.nasateam.extent.1972-2002.n
gsfc.nasateam.month.extent.1972-2002.n
File Naming Conventiongsfc.nasateam.extent.1972-yyyy.h
gsfc.nasateam.month.extent.1972-yyyy.h
Where:
Variable | Description |
---|---|
gsfc.nasateam |
Indicates this is GSFC data processed with the NASA Team algorithm |
extent |
Indicates that this file contains sea ice extent measurements |
month |
Indicates that this file contains monthly averaged data (otherwise daily) |
1972 |
First year for which data is available |
yyyy |
4-digit year (most recent year of processing) |
h |
Hemisphere (n: Northern, s: Southern) |
Total Ice Area Extent ASCII Text File Column Header Names
Data are in ASCII text format arranged in columns as described in Table 5.
Column | Description |
---|---|
Year |
4-digit year |
Mon |
1-digit and 2-digit month |
Day |
1-digit and 2-digit day of month |
DOY |
3-digit day of year |
Ver |
Version number (pre: preliminary, v01: version 01, v02: version 02) |
Region |
The remaining columns of the Arctic and Antarctic daily area and daily extent files list the total ice-covered area (km2) and total sea ice extent (km2), respectively. The columns are labeled by region. Refer to Table 6 and Table 7 for a list of abbreviations for the column names for the Arctic and Antarctic regions. |
Table 6 lists the Arctic regions covered by this data set along with their abbreviations found in the data files. Table 7 lists the Antarctic regions covered by this data set along with their abbreviations found in the data files.
|
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Merged ESMR-SMMR-SSMI Sea Ice Extent ASCII Text File Column Header Names
Data are in ASCII text format arranged in columns as described in Table 8 and Table 9 for the daily and monthly data.
Column No. | Description |
---|---|
1 | 4-digit year |
2 | 1-digit and 2-digit month |
3 | 1-digit and 2-digit day of month |
4 | 1-digit to 3-digit day of year |
5 | Observed/interpolated sea ice extent (106 km2) |
Column | Description |
---|---|
Year | 4-digit year |
Months (remaining 12 columns) | 3-character month abbreviation |
The files sizes may change slightly, but generally they are:
- 136,192 bytes for Northern Hemisphere data files
- 104,912 bytes for Southern Hemisphere data files
- 25-40k bytes for .png browse images
N: -39.23, S: -90, E: 180, W: -180
N: 90, S: 30.98, E: 180, W: -180
Spatial Resolution
25 km x 25 km
Projection Description
Polar Stereo
Grid Description
For the Northern Hemisphere, the grid size is 304 x 448 pixels.
For the Southern Hemisphere, the grid size is 316 x 332 pixels.
26 October 1978 to 31 December 2015
Sea Ice Concentration
Total Ice-covered Area (km2)
Total Sea Ice Extent (km2)
Parameter Description
Ice Persistence
The ice persistence data indicate the historical frequency of the presence of ice with at least 15 percent concentration in each pixel of the 25 km polar stereo grid in a binary file.
The Northern Hemisphere binary files are 304 x 448 byte data.
Southern Hemisphere binary files are 316 x 332 bytes.
Table 10 lists the Data Values for the ice persistence files:
Value | Description |
---|---|
0 | Water, no ice |
1 - 100 | Historical frequency of the presence of ice, as a percentage |
253 | Coastlines (land adjacent to water) |
254 | Land |
Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration
The monthly climatology data give the average sea ice concentration for each polar stereo pixel. A minimum concentration value of 15 percent is imposed. When concentrations are lower than this, the grid cell is considered to be free of ice.
The Northern Hemisphere binary files are 304 x 448 byte data.
The Southern Hemisphere binary files are 316 x 332 byte data.
Table 11 lists the Data Values for the ice persistence files:
Value | Description |
---|---|
0 | Water, no ice |
15 - 100 | Average ice concentration. Minimum concentration is 15 percent |
251 | Pole hole, no direct satellite observation |
253 | Coast (land adjacent to water) |
254 | Land |
Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent Data
The daily and monthly total sea-ice extent and sea-ice area data for specified Arctic and Antarctic regions are displayed in ASCII text tables. Anomalies are also provieded, which indicate departures from the long-term averages.
Sample Data Images
Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent
Refer to Figures 1 and 2 for Bootstrap sample data images for the Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent data files.

.png)
Refer to Figures 3 and 4 for Nasateam sample data images for the Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent data files.


gsfc.nasateam.extent.Total-Antarctic.1978-2015.s.png
Sea Ice Persistence
Refer to Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 for sample data images of the Sea Ice Persistence data files for both the Northern and Southern Hemishpheres.



.png)
Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration
Refer to Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12 for sample data images of the Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration data files for both the Northern and Southern Hemishpheres.

(mean.dec.1979-2015.n)

(mean.dec.1979-2015.n.png)

(mean.dec.1979-2015.s)

(mean.dec.1979-2015.s.png)
Software and Tools
To see the time-series plots of an area, area anomalies, extent, and extent anomalies for each region, click on the colored region area in the maps in Figures 13 and 14.
To see graphs for an entire area, click on the Total Arctic or Total Antarctic links.


Data Acquisition and Processing
All data are derived from the Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS data set and/or the NASA Team Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data data set. Polar Stereographic Valid Ice Masks Derived from National Ice Center Monthly Sea Ice Climatologies are also used in the processing to remove spurious ice caused by residual weather effects and land spillover in passive microwave data.Processing Steps
Total Ice-Covered Areas and Sea Ice Extent Data
In computing the total ice-covered area and ice extent data with both the NASA Team and Bootstrap Algorithms, pixels must have an ice concentration of 15 percent or greater to be included. Total ice-covered area is defined as the area of each pixel with at least 15 percent ice concentration multiplied by the ice fraction in the pixel (0.15 to 1.00). Total ice extent is computed by summing the number of pixels with at least 15 percent ice concentration multiplied by the area per pixel; thus, the entire area of any pixel with at least 15 percent ice concentration is considered to contribute to the total ice extent. Anomalies are the difference between the current time period's average value and the long-term average. A positive anomaly indicates that the current period has greater extent or area than the average
Ice Persistence Data
Individual ocean pixels containing a minimum of 15 percent ice cover are summed throughout the time series. The maximum ice persistence value is 100 percent. Each pixel represents the percentage of years for which ice was present during that month. Only the NASA Team Algorithm is used to compute these data.
Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration
A threshold of 15 percent concentration is applied to the monthly climatology fields. Only the NASA Team Algorithm is used to compute these data.
Processing History
Version No. | Date | Description |
---|---|---|
2 | January 2017 |
|
1 | 28 July 2014 | Reprocessing is complete and updated data are now available through 31 December 2013 for all Sea Ice Trends and Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I-SSMIS data sets. |
1 | 04 September 2013 | Reprocessing is complete and updated data are now available through 31 December 2012 for all Sea Ice Trends and Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I-SSMIS data sets. With this update, the following changes have been implemented:
Total Ice-Covered Area and ExtentThe cutoff value which defines a region as ice-covered or not ice-covered has been adjusted from 14.8 percent to 15 percent to more closely match the methodology used to calculate other sea ice extent and area products at NSIDC. Ice Persistence and Monthly Climatology of Sea Ice Concentration (Monthly Means)
Monthly Ocean Masks and Maximum Extent MasksThe ocean mask files and maximum extent mask files were removed as they are not the masks used in the production of these data sets. This most recent reprocessing also rectifies two previous releases of these data sets that contained erroneous data. In January/February of 2012, and May of 2013, the products were to have contained data from 2007 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2011, respectively. However, the climatology products contained data only through 2007. We recommend replacing previously downloaded 2010 and 2011 climatology data files with the climatology files that now extend through 2012. The Total Ice-Covered Area and Extent data set did contain post-2007 data, but reprocessed data utilizing the new methodology are available in the 2012 release. |
Missing Data and Monthly Anomalies
Periods for which there are no available data are described in Table 13.
Monthly anomalies of ice-covered area and ice extent are calculated from monthly mean ice concentrations throughout the period of study. These anomalies show the deviations from the mean monthly values averaged over the entire time series.
Time Periods | Data Type | Description |
---|---|---|
October 1978, December 1987 | Sea ice | Sea ice data are missing for most days, so monthly values are not calculated for these months. |
January 1988 | Sea ice | January 1988 is missing data for the first half of the month. A value is given for this month, but the value may not represent true monthly mean since the sea ice data are incomplete. |
There is a circular section over the Northern Hemisphere pole known as the pole hole, which is never measured due to orbit inclination. For the purposes of ice extent, pixels under the pole hole are always considered to be at least 15 percent. For total ice-covered area, the pixels under the pole hole are not used. The Southern Hemisphere also has a pole hole, but it does not affect this sea ice data set because there is only land under this hole. For SMMR, the hole is 611 km in radius and is located poleward of 84.5 degrees North. For SSM/I and SSMIS, the hole is 311 km in radius and is located poleward of 87.2 degrees North.
For sensor or instrument description information, see the following Web pages:
References and Related Publications
Contacts and Acknowledgments
Julienne Stroeve
Professor of Polar Observation & Modelling
University College London
Walt Meier
Cryospheric Sciences Branch
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Information
DOCUMENT CREATION DATE
January 2017
DOCUMENT REVISION DATE
How To
The following are instructions describing how to import "Sea Ice Trends and Climatologies from SMMR and SSM/I-SSMIS" binary files into ArcGIS. These instructions were tested with ArcInfo 10.0.
1. Rename the Data File.
In order to be able to import a... read more