Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data, Version 1 USER GUIDE How to Cite These Data As a condition of using these data, you must include a citation: Cavalieri, D. J., C. L. Parkinson, P. Gloersen, and H. J. Zwally. 1996, updated yearly. Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data, Version 1. [Indicate subset used]. Boulder, Colorado USA. NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/8GQ8LZQVL0VL. [Date Accessed]. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE DATA, CONTACT [email protected] FOR CURRENT INFORMATION, VISIT https://nsidc.org/data/NSIDC-0051 USER GUIDE: Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data, Version 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 DATA DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................. 3 1.1.1 Accounting for Sensor Differences .............................................................................................. 3 1.1.2 Using these Data ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Parameters ......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Parameter Description ................................................................................................................. 5 1.2.2 Parameter Source ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.2.3 Parameter Range......................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 File Information................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Format.......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 File Contents ................................................................................................................................ 6 1.3.3 Directory Structure ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.4 Naming Convention – Daily Files ................................................................................................. 7 1.3.5 Naming Convention – Monthly Files ............................................................................................ 8 1.3.6 File Size ....................................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Spatial Information ............................................................................................................................. 9 1.4.1 Coverage ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1.4.2 Resolution .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.4.3 Projection and Grid Description ................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Temporal Information ....................................................................................................................... 10 1.5.1 Coverage ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.5.2 Resolution .................................................................................................................................. 10 2 DATA ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING ............................................................................... 10 2.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Acquisition ........................................................................................................................................ 10 2.2.1 SMMR ........................................................................................................................................ 11 2.2.2 SSM/I and SSMIS ...................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Derivation Techniques and Algorythms............................................................................................ 11 2.4 Processing........................................................................................................................................ 12 2.4.1 Platform and Sensor Differences ............................................................................................... 12 2.4.2 Land-to-Ocean Spillover and Residual Weather-Related Effects .............................................. 14 2.4.3 Manual Quality Control .............................................................................................................. 17 2.4.4 Filling Data Gaps ....................................................................................................................... 17 2.4.5 Monthly Data Generation ........................................................................................................... 18 2.5 Quality, Errors, and Limitations ........................................................................................................ 18 2.5.1 Data Validation by Source ......................................................................................................... 18 2.5.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgment....................................................................................... 19 2.5.3 Data Verification by Data Center ............................................................................................... 19 2.5.4 File Errors .................................................................................................................................. 21 2.5.5 Sea Ice Pixel Correction ............................................................................................................ 23 Page 1 of 29 National Snow and Ice Data Center nsidc.org USER GUIDE: Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data, Version 1 2.6 Instrumentation................................................................................................................................. 24 2.6.1 Description ................................................................................................................................. 24 2.6.2 Trajectory and Attitude ............................................................................................................... 24 3 SOFTWARE AND TOOLS ........................................................................................................ 25 4 VERSION HISTORY ................................................................................................................. 26 5 RELATED DATA COLLECTIONS ............................................................................................. 26 6 CONTACTS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................. 27 7 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 27 8 DOCUMENT INFORMATION.................................................................................................... 29 8.1 Publication Date ............................................................................................................................... 29 8.2 Date Last Updated ........................................................................................................................... 29 Page 2 of 29 National Snow and Ice Data Center nsidc.org USER GUIDE: Sea Ice Concentrations from Nimbus-7 SMMR and DMSP SSM/I-SSMIS Passive Microwave Data, Version 1 1 DATA DESCRIPTION This data set is generated from brightness temperature data derived from the following sensors: The Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) -F8, -F11 and -F13 Special Sensor Microwave/Imagers (SSM/Is), and the DMSP-F17 Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS). The data are provided in the polar stereographic projection at a grid cell size of 25 x 25 km. This product is designed to provide a consistent time series of sea ice concentrations (the fraction, or percentage, of ocean area covered by sea ice) spanning the coverage of several passive microwave instruments. To aid in this goal, sea ice algorithm coefficients are changed to reduce differences in sea ice extent and area as estimated using the SMMR and SSM/I sensors. The data are generated using the NASA Team algorithm developed by the Oceans and Ice Branch, Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). These data include gridded daily (every other day for SMMR data) and monthly averaged sea ice concentrations for both the north and south polar regions. The data are produced at GSFC about once per year, with roughly a one-year latency, and include data since 26 October 1978. Data are produced from SMMR brightness