National Ice Center Sea Ice Charts and Climatologies Available
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
For further details and to access the data, please visit:
http://nsidc.org/data/g02172.html
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) now offers sea ice charts
and climatologies in gridded format produced by the US National Ice
Center (NIC).
NIC is an interagency NOAA, Navy, and Coast Guard operational sea ice
analysis and forecasting center. Since 1972, NIC has produced weekly or
biweekly Arctic and Antarctic sea ice charts. These analyses are
produced using available in situ, remotely sensed, and model data
sources and are generated primarily for mission planning and safety of
navigation. Overall, the record of sea ice concentration from the NIC
series is believed to be more accurate than that from passive microwave
sensors, especially from the mid-1990s on. The ice edge in particular is
more accurate and precise in the chart series. The product, however, has
some inconsistencies due to the operational nature of NIC chart
production, which should be kept in mind when using the product.
This data set includes both the charts and an arctic sea ice
concentration climatology derived from the chart series, covering 1972
through 2004. The climatology consists of median, maximum, minimum,
first quartile, and third quartile concentrations as well as frequency
of occurrence of ice at any concentration for 33 year, 10 year, and 5
year periods. Climatology products are in EASE-Grid (gridded binary) and
GIS compatible format; chart files are in EASE-Grid; and browse images
are GIF files.
Data are archived at NSIDC and accessible at:
http://nsidc.org/data/g02172.html
If you have any questions, please contact:
NSIDC User Services
E-mail: nsidc [at] nsidc.org